In Through the Out Door
by svenjen
Summary: What lies in store for the child of convicted felon, Harold Waldorf, after his wife further abandons their daughter by committing suicide? That's what young Blair wants to know when she is sent to live with the dysfunctional Bass family. Warning, this story is AU and will therefore be somewhat OOC. It will also be rather angsty. A T rating for now….
1. Chapter 1

**In Through the Out Door**

**Chapter 1**

Bart Bass bit his tongue and fought off his natural instinct to firmly say no and just walk away from the entire situation. It was only because his late wife had been friends with the woman that he was now the one in this predicament in the first place. It wasn't fair! He had his younger brother and own young son to raise already, and didn't have the patience or time for either of them as it was, let alone with somebody else's kid!

But his logical, business-minded brain kicked in and bade him patience. He knew that the press would have an absolute field day with him should he turn his back on the child at this time. It was simply too easy to make the successful look bad in the eyes of the public. And with the major corporate deal he had on the table at Bass Industries at the moment, he really couldn't afford any more bad press than he'd already had.

So instead of following his instincts and walking away from the situation, Bart Bass sighed, nodded his head begrudgingly, reached for the pen that was offered him and signed the papers giving him full guardianship and custody over the little girl.

"See that the child and her things are picked up and dealt with accordingly," he ordered his driver when the man dropped him back at the hotel. "I'm already late for my meeting as it is."

**XOXO**

"But I'm scared," Blair cried into the skirts of her housekeeper as she watched the last of her things being boxed up and loaded into the elevator to be taken onto the truck out in front of their building.

"You need to be strong, Miss Blair," Dorota replied as she crouched down and hugged the little girl tightly into her ample bosom. "Your Papa tell you so."

The child nodded, remembering her father's words, her heavy ebony curls bouncing gently along with the motion of her head. "I miss my Mamma," she cried as she held the woman closer.

"I know you do, child," the woman acknowledged as she stroked the glossy curls. "Losing your Mamma is hard thing to do for everyone, let alone when one is still so little as you."

Again Blair nodded, but this time another course of tears ran down her tiny face and onto the shoulder of Dorota's uniform, soaking it thoroughly. "It hurts inside my heart," she whispered.

"We're all set," interupted the gruff voice of one of the men who had been packing up the once prestigious Waldorf home. He scratched his greasy head and wiped his hands off on his filthy pants. "And I believe the driver is already waiting for her downstairs," he announced.

Dorota nodded, holding back the tears that she wanted to shed again for the child. Her heart was aching for the little girl she'd helped raise for the last five years! Over the last few weeks she had seen Blair's entire family disintegrate. Her father, a once prominent lawyer and businessman, had recently been found guilty on several counts of fraud, and had consequently been locked up in prison for his crimes. And then only last week Blair's own mother abandoned her by committing suicide over the disgrace of the family's name and loss of their social standing. Having no other living relatives to support her, Blair Waldorf was now in the hands of the only member of the couple named on the Waldorf family will, the notorious Bartholomew Bass.

The woman let go of her charge and straightened her apron. She took the little girl's hand and led her into the elevator while the man went to check on the rest of the household's contents that his team was to pack up and haul over to the court appointed auction house.

Dorota crouched down to face Blair once again as the elevator headed downwards. She took a hanky from her pocket and wiped the tears and runny nose from Blair's little face. "I will try my best to see you when I can, like I say before," she promised. "But you must hold your head up and remember you are Waldorf, a very important name in dis city. And be a good girl for Mr. Bass. He must be good man if your Mamma and Papa say for him to look after you.

Blair stared at Dorota and blinked back more tears in her eyes that looked almost black from so much crying. She was unconvinced.

Dorota sighed and wiped Blair's face off again. "Your Mamma is watching you from heaven and your Papa will write you letters when he can, so you will be ok," she reminder her again as she had all week through the ordeal.

The elevator opened into the lobby and the limo driver approached them. "You must be Miss Blair," he said kindly as he held out his hand for her to take.

Blair backed into her housekeeper's knees and tried to fight off the fear she felt enveloping her. She was about to leave the last familiar person and place in her young life to go and live with a total stranger.

"Remember," Dorota reminded her as she placed her hand on the child's head and encouraged her forward towards the driver.

Blair dropped her head and nodded as she stepped forward and reached out to take the hand offered her. Without looking back at her housekeeper and the home she had lived in her entire life, she climbed into the backseat of the biggest limo she'd ever ridden in. She couldn't bare to say goodbye.

**XOXO**

**A/N:** So this is an idea I've had brewing but put on hold for a couple of years. It will be an angsty and a somewhat out of character story, but sill definitely be a Chair story. If there is sufficient interest, I'll continue writing it so please let me know if you are interested.


	2. Chapter 2

**In Through the Out Door**

**Chapter 2**

**A/N: Thanks for letting me know you're interested in where I take this….. **

**XOXO**

The little girl sat miserably in the overbearing room that had been haphazardly arranged with the furniture and boxes brought over last evening from her home. She'd slept last night, but only because her wee body was spent from emotional exhaustion. But that sleep had been fitful and filled with nightmares causing her to wake in tears, more frightened and alone than one so small should ever feel.

She didn't know what to do. She had already been up once to pee and wash and brush her teeth in the bedroom's private bathroom. She had attempted to brush out her hair, but the long and heavy locks were tangled horribly in a knot after her twisting and turning all night and she finally gave up and just put a headband on.

She wanted her housekeeper. Dorota had always been the one to see to her personal care at home. She knew she should have her bath, which was part of her morning routine to make herself presentable for the day. But she didn't know how to run the tub without burning herself and she didn't know how to wash her hair on her own. Hell, she thought in dismay, I don't even know how to do up my own dresses without help.

She was hungry. She'd scarcely eaten anything during the last week and had only finally been able to stomach a little yogurt after Dorota had finally insisted the day before. Her tiny tummy growled angrily and she crossed her arms over it to encourage its silence. Without being presented properly, she dared not bring herself downstairs and ask for any breakfast. And so Blair sat alone in the big bed, sad and alone, and completely unsure of what she was supposed to do.

A couple of hours later she was startled by a little squeak at her bedroom door. She hastily looked up and caught sight of a head full of dark, tussled hair and a pair of large amber eyes staring at her.

"Who're you?" she asked as she sat up straighter and folded her legs under her little body.

The boy quickly ran into her room and hopped up onto the bed next to her. He grinned, showing a large gap between his front teeth. Quickly the child smirked and then held out his hand as he had been taught to do under occasions such as this. "I'm Chuck Bass."

Blair pulled back and stared in disbelief at the bold demeanor of the little boy. She hadn't been aware that Mr. Bass had other children in his home. She managed a grin and accepted his hand in a wee handshake. If they had been standing, she would have offered him a small curtsey. "My name is Blair Waldorf," she offered shyly.

"How come yer still in bed?" he asked. "Aren'tya hungry?"

Blair felt her face grow heated and she lowered her eyes and nodded. "I need help getting ready," she admitted in embarrassment.

Chuck looked at the little girl quizzically. "Can'tya walk or something?"

Blair frowned and looked up at him. "Of course I can walk! But I'm not supposed to run the bath and I can't do up my zippers and my hair is too tanglesd to go downstairs."

"What'ya need a bath fer?" he asked. "You don't look dirty. You kin come down in yer pajamas just like I do." And with that he pulled out the front of his purple striped pyjama shirt for her to see. "See?"

Blair frowned. "I'm not supposed to," she replied as she felt the tears begin to build again. But despite how hard she attempted to stop from crying, she couldn't help it now and they started to pour down her cheeks. She covered her face in embarrassment.

Chuck frowned as he realized the little girl was crying. He was unsure of how to respond in that situation because he really didn't have any friends and he wasn't allowed to cry, it just made his dad and his uncle and the nanny angry at him. Yet he knew he should say or do something to her. Getting mad just didn't seem to be the right thing to do. Instead he offered, "I'll help ya."

Blair looked up as she felt him slip off the bed and then run into her bathroom. He put in the plug and turned the faucets on, full throttle in the bath for her, putting his hand under the water to make sure the temperature felt all right.

Blair slipped out of bed and followed behind, watching in disbelief as he seemed to expertly manage the bathtub all by himself. She was in awe. He couldn't have been any older that she was.

"What's wrong with yer hair?" he asked as he retrieved her brush from the counter and looked at the back of her head.

"It's tangled," she replied and reached up to show him where a knot of hair had formed during the night.

He stepped closer and looked at the small mass she was pointing too. He put the brush on her scalp and tried to brush through it. She sure had a lot of hair, he observed. "Yer right. It's stuck. I think I know how I kin help ya," he informed her as he dropped the brush and ran out of her bathroom.

Chuck quickly ran down the hall and then downstairs and into his father's office. He knew he wasn't allowed in there, but desperately wanted to help the little girl who was so obviously distraught over her knotted hair. He went over to Bart's desk and opened the second drawer where he retrieved a large pair of scissors. I'll just put them back when I'm done, he thought innocently. No one had to know he'd taken the prohibited item for a moment. He was more than aware that he would be in horrible trouble if caught with a pair of scissors again. He had been forbidden from ever, ever, ever touching another pair again after the last incident.

Chuck tucked the scissors under his shirt and ran swiftly back up the stairs into Blair's room and then her bathroom. "Whoah!" he cried as he spied the water coming close to the brim of the bathtub. He quickly dropped the scissors and reached for the faucets and shut them off. "Whew! That was close!" he announced, looking over at the little girl by the counter. "How come ya didn't shut 'em off?" he asked in amazement.

"I don't know how to," Blair replied once again in embarrassment.

"Whatdoya mean, ya don't know how?"

"My housekeeper used to do it for me every morning. I'm not supposed to play with the water."

"But that's silly," Chuck commented as he picked up the scissors he'd tossed on the floor and proceeded over to the counter to stand behind Blair.

"You can't cut my hair off!" Blair screeched when she realized his intent.

"Just the knot, silly. Not all of it!"

Blair stared wide-eyed at herself in the mirror as she watched Chuck Bass take the scissors in both his hands and then hack a large chunk, including the knot, out of her hair.

He looked at his work and then grinned his gap-toothed smile, all too pleased with himself. "There!" he exclaimed as he placed the scissors back on the counter and picked up Blair's brush, running it smoothly through the area that had once been knotted. "See, no more knot!"

Just then they heard abrupt laughter coming from the bathroom doorway.

Blair looked frightened upon seeing a big teenaged boy laughing at them.

"Boy are you ever in trouble," the teenager informed the two of them.

Jack had been in the study next to Bart's office playing games on the computer when he'd caught a blur of purple run past the room and down the hall. When it happened again moments later, he knew that it had to be Chuck and that his rambunctious little nephew was up to something. Quickly getting his player to a safe point in the game, Jack had gotten up and then went to investigate just what it was that Chuck was up to.

"I didn't do anything bad!" Chuck defended as he attempted to cover the scissors up with a hand towel.

"Nice try, twirp," Jack stated as he uncovered the forbidden object and promptly smacked Chuck upside the head. "You know you're not allowed to touch these, right?"

Chuck dropped his stinging head and nodded in defeat. "I was only trying to help the little girl with her knot and her bath."

Jack looked down at the mass of dark curls lying on the floor behind Blair and then turned to look at the nearly overflowing bathtub behind them. He smirked. "You're trying to get her into the bath already, you little pervert! It sure didn't take you long to try and get her naked!" he said to his nephew.

Both Chuck and Blair looked up at Jack, quite unsure of what it was the older boy was talking about.

Jack smirked again and shook his head, grabbing the scissors in one hand and his nephew's hand in the other and promptly hauled them both out of the bathroom to go downstairs. "You stay there, girl," he ordered Blair before he left her room. "I'll have the nanny come up and deal with you in a few minutes."

**XOXO**

"Quit yer crying and shut yer gob," the nanny ordered as she finished cutting the rest of Blair's curls off to just below her shoulders. "You ought not to have let the little monster near ya with the scissors," she bit. "And I don't know what yer folks had been thinking. Yer plenty old enough to do this stuff on yer own by now. Get in da tub!"

Blair wiped her eyes, trying to avoid looking in the mirror at her now shoulder length hair, knowing how upset the shorter style would have made her parents. She didn't want to upset the cruel woman any further than she and Chuck already had that morning. She carefully stepped into the tub (now with much less water in it thanbefore) and sat down.

"I'll show you how to wash it good fer today and then you'll start doing it on yer own after this. Hear? And unless yer filthy, ya don't need to bathe every day. Young as ya are, 'bout twice a week should do it. Get yer fingers up here and scrub yer whole head with yer fingertips like I bin doing."

Blair nodded as she followed the scary woman's directions as best she could. She finally plugged her nose and ducked her head back under the water to rinse the suds off as instructed.

"Ya know how to wash yer body at least?" the woman asked skeptically.

Blair nodded and picked up the soap and a face cloth.

"Good," the nanny replied in relief as she stood up and wiped her hands off on her apron. She'd been pissed off to find out that she had another child to care for in the house when she'd come in this morning. It hadn't been what she'd been hired for and she was getting too old to be raising kids anyways, especially spoiled rotten ones who couldn't seem to do even the simplest of tasks for themselves. They'd have been lucky to have found her, she thought. Those Bass boys were hard on their nannies! And they'd had to pay dearly for her to stick around. But after they'd sprung this latest surprise on her today, she'd be having another talk with the head housekeeper about this. She needed more help, or she'd start looking for another job! "Make sure ya wash yer pits and yer crotch last. And use soap!" she added as she prepared to leave Blair to finish her bath. "It's important to get the smelly parts clean too, ya know. And don't ferget to pull the plug when yer done. Otherwise you'll be leaving a God-awful ring in da tub."

**XOXO**

"I'm sorry 'bout yer hair," Chuck apologized when they were sitting at the dining room table later on that day for lunch.

"It's not your fault," Blair grumbled as she fidgeted with the napkin on her lap. She reached for the sandwich on her plate and took a tiny bit off of it, closing her eyes in appreciation of the warm, buttery goodness of the crispy bread and the rich tang of the melted cheese inside the bread. It was her first experience with a grilled cheese sandwich and found it heavenly.

"Still it was an awful lot of hair she cut off ya," he acknowledged as he reached for his glass of milk. "I still think yer pretty, though," he added with a blush.

Blair looked over at him and couldn't help but smile. "You think I'm pretty?" she asked in disbelief.

He blushed even further and nodded. She was the loveliest thing he'd every lain his eyes upon.

"Thank-you," she replied.

About then Jack came into the dining room, his plate heaped with grilled cheese sandwiches in one hand and carrying a large glass of milk in the other. He sat at the head of the table away from the two of them and began to scarf down his food. "So, no TV or computer for either of you for the next week, eh, Chucky-boy?" he laughed as he tossed a corner of crust from his sandwich at his nephew.

Chuck frowned and looked over at Blair, shaking his head only slightly to indicate they shouldn't even think to argue with the older boy. Instead of answering Jack he just shrugged his shoulders and continued eating his lunch. He was always in trouble for one thing or another, so being grounded didn't really fizz him in the least. Besides, there was a new kid in the house and he was ecstatic that he'd maybe now have a friend.

Jack scowled when he realized the two of then were ignoring him. Being a young adult, he felt the two little children should have more respect than that towards him. He grinned maliciously as he looked at Blair. "Too bad about your hair," he commented. "You were kind of cute before Chuck went and cut it all off. Now you kind of look like a boy!"

Blair frowned and looked down at her lap as she felt the color rise in her face. She wasn't sure of how to respond to the older boy.

"No she doesn't!" Chuck argued back, unable to keep his mouth shut.

Jack smirked as he witnessed the color rising in Blair's face. He tossed another crust from his sandwich across the table to bounce off her head. "Hey, didn't your father get sent to jail or something?" he asked maliciously.

Blair hung her head even lower, wanting to crawl under the table in shame. I am a Waldorf, she told herself over and over again. I am better than this.

Chuck was getting angry. He liked this new girl in the house and knew Jack was being mean to her for no reason. So without thinking he picked up his glass of milk and threw it across the table, right into his uncle's face. "Leave her alone!" he yelled in anger.

Blair looked up in shock at the outburst from Chuck and she gasped upon seeing milk all over Jack's face, hair and shirt.

"You little asshole!" Jack yelled as he grabbed a napkin and began wiping off his face.

Chuck jumped up from the table and quickly grabbed Blair's hand, pulling her toward him. "Come on!" he yelled.

The two of them ran out of the living room and into the foyer, where Chuck pulled her into the elevator and hit the closed door button before his uncle could reach them. He began hitting several buttons on the panel, and laughed when he heard Jack kick the door and begin yelling obscenities at them as the elevator started down.

Blair stood in shock at what was happening. Never in her young life had she ever had to run away from anything, especially a large bully! "Why are we running away?" she asked him as she finally forced her hand away from his. "And where are we going?"

"Jack likes to hurt people, especially us littler ones. We had to get away from him 'cause he was gunna flip out on us and maybe even pound on us. And I have a hiding spot that he doesn't know where ta find me. But I'm gunna show it to you, cause yer little like me and he's mean."

Blair tried to take all of what Chuck was saying to her in, but the whole thing was so overwhelming it was beyond her. Behind the shock of the situation she was absolutely terrified. First of all had been the incident with the hair and bath this morning. Then came the washing and the nasty nanny who talked even funnier than Chuck seemed to. Then came the consequences where she and Chuck were grounded for an entire week because of the hair and tub incident (She had no concept of what being grounded even was and had never been punished for anything in her entire life.) Then came the verbal abuse from the bigger Bass boy at lunch, who actually threw food at them… and then Chuck threw his milk in the bully's face! The whole thing was surreal to her. So she simply nodded her head so as not to appear too stupid and listened to what he was saying.

When the elevator opened on the bottom floor of the Palace Hotel, Chuck took Blair's hand again and he began to run down a series of hallways until they came to a small room that had a pop machine and ice dispenser, and held extra towels and other supplies for the hotel patrons. On the bottom shelf of the supply closet he pushed aside a panel and quickly slipped inside. Blair was stunned, but she followed him into the space because she didn't know what else to do.

Chuck replaced the panel and crawled a little way inside until they came to what appeared to be a large mechanical room of sorts. The room was warm and there was a loud humming type of sound that came from one of the machines. Chuck followed along the concrete wall for a bit until he came to a door. It was unlocked and when he pushed it open Blair stared in awe at row upon row of stacks of high quality furniture, mattresses, appliances and electronics used to furnish the suites and rooms of the hotel.

"Wow!" she stated in awe. "This is amazing!"

Chuck turned and looked at her and then grinned from ear to ear upon seeing the look upon her face. It wasn't often that he saw awe in another's expression. "Aw, this is nothing!" he commented as he began to drag her among the massive rows of stuff. At the end of his trail he stopped and pointed up a wall where there appeared to be a void in the darkness. He dropped her hand and began to climb up the frame of the wall until he disappeared into the void.

Blair watched in surprise, wondering where on earth he'd disappeared. But a moment later Chuck's grinning little face popped over what appeared to be a ledge of some kind and she gasped.

"What're ya wait'n for?" he asked. "Come on up!"

Blair looked apprehensively at the wall where he'd scurried up. It had thin slats of wood that one could easily hold onto (sort of like a makeshift ladder), but she'd never climbed anything like that in her life.

Chuck frowned. "Yer not scared, are ya?" he asked.

Blair frowned again. She didn't want to appear weak to this strange boy who had stuck up for her in front of the mean teenager. "No, I'm not scared," she lied as she grabbed hold of a slat and began to climb. She went up as far as the slats went, fearing to look down, and then blinked in disbelief when she saw the ledge where Chuck was laying on his belly.

He took hold of her hand and pulled her over. Then he turned his back on her and scurried away on his hands and knees for another dozen or so feet until he could stand up.

Blair followed behind him, fearing she would surely wear holes in her leotards from such rough play. She didn't dare think about the filth that would be on her hands and dress from doing this, knowing that her mother would have disapproved. Blair stood up and gawked in amazement at sight before her. They were in a large open area that could be considered a room of sorts, with several mattresses and some smaller pieces of furniture haphazardly organized. Littered about were stacks of comic books and some empty food wrappers and soda containers. "What is this place?" Blair asked in disbelief.

"This is ma hidin' spot," Chuck answered proudly as he motioned around the room. "I found it last year when Jack was away at camp and I was bored. I was in da ice room gettin' a soda and I dropped my quarter on da floor. It rolled into the cupboard and I bent down to git it, but it was gone. When I went and climbed under to find it, I saw it had slipped inside da hole in the wall. The panel was loose so I moved it and found the machine room. I went in der a few more times when I needed to hide from Jack and then one day I found the door into da storage room. There's another door to it from the hall, but ya need a key to get in that way. I started to explore the room and then once when I was goofing around on some mattresses I climbed up a pile of 'em and I found dis place," he explained as he pointed back to the ledge they'd just climbed on. "When the mattress stock got piled really high in here last winter, I pushed a few of em up on the ledge and then in here cause sitting on the floor in here sucks! Then I brought some other stuff up here too. See, I even have 'lectricity up here." He walked over to a small table and switched on a lamp. He sat down on one of the mattresses. "If Jack is ever trying to hurt ya, you can come in here an hide. Just make sure he doesn't see where yer going first!" he added wisely.

"Is that why you pushed all the buttons in the elevator?" Blair finally asked, still in a state of shock.

Chuck nodded. "He isn't sure which one I git off on and it takes a long time fer the elevator to go back to the suite so he kin come after me. He usually just gives up."

Blair didn't know what else to say to him. He was the strangest and yet most amazing person she'd ever met before in her life. But what she did understand was that he had been kind to her and was obviously trying to protect her from Jack. "Is he always so mean?" she asked quietly.

Chuck looked down at his knees and he frowned. He looked at his feet. Without saying anything he nodded his head up and down.

Blair scooted over to Chuck's side and she leaned in and kissed his little cheek. "Thank you for saving me," she said.

Chuck was now the one in shock. She'd kissed him! He instantly turned red in the face and was at a loss for words.

Blair grinned. "You're my knight in shining armor," she complimented. "And I'm the princess."

He looked at her beautiful little face and he grinned and then nodded. Yes, he could live with that.

**XOXO**

Luckily for the pair of them, Jack had made plans for the evening and was therefore long gone when they finally made their way back to the penthouse suite in the early evening, both a filthy mess.

After Blair had ran herself another bath and had gotten the grime off of her and they'd had some dinner, the two of them sat together on the couch in the children's study looking at books. Blair read Chuck a story. He was blown away at how well she could read already. "I practiced a lot," she explained. "There wasn't much else to do at my house. Besides, my mother told me it was important to read every day because of school and she made me read to her in English and in French."

Chuck looked at her and he frowned. "I thought you didn't have a mamma," he commented.

Blair looked at him sadly and she nodded. "My mther died," she replied quietly.

"My mamma died too," he informed her.

Blair looked at him in disbelief. She'd never known another child who had lost a parent. "She did?"

He nodded. "When I was a baby… Jack says I made her die," he added in a whisper.

Blair gasped at the words that came out of his mouth. "Do you hate him?" she asked.

"Who? Jack?"

Blair nodded. "Yes, Jack."

Chuck looked at her straight in the eye and he nodded back. "He's evil."

**XOXO**

**A/N:** So, I thought I'd let it go there for now. I'll answer some questions. At this point of the story C/B are about 5-6 years old. Jack is 14-15ish. The story will move quickly so they won't be young for long. Yes, it is going to be sad in places (hence the angst) and Jack certainly is the antagonist here. Chuck talks like his nanny for now only, so don't worry about it. Have faith…. I will get you to love as soon as it is appropriate.

Anyways, thanks again for the interest and for reading and reviewing my story. I appreciate the comments.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Just where do you think you're going, you little shit?" Jack asked with a growl and he grabbed Chuck by the arm before the younger boy had the time to get into the elevator with Blair later the next morning.

"Le'me go?" Chuck yelled as he struggled against the bigger boy's grasp.

Blair stood in the elevator unsure of what to do. The two had managed to evade Jack all morning, but now that he'd caught them, she was unsure of what was going to happen to them next. With Jack having Chuck, Blair she felt she had no choice but to follow him as the boy's uncle dragged him down the hall and into the guest bathroom next to the study.

Chuck screeched as Jack lowered his head into the toilet bowl and flushed, giving his young nephew a swirly.

"That's for throwing milk in my face last night," Jack laughed as he watched Chuck's hair and face get soaked in toilet water.

"Let him go!" screeched Blair, her voice so high pitched that Jack thought it could likely break glass.

"Let him go or what?" Jack asked curiously. Blair was potentially a new plaything and he wanted to see how she worked.

Blair stood at a loss, not sure what she could do to get the bully off of Chuck.

As the toilet stopped running, Chuck stopped flaying and Jack smirked. "What are you going to do, Blair?" he asked again. "Should I flush him once more to see?"

Blair felt her face flush and her tiny chest heaved with adrenaline as she fought to compose herself. She was so out of her league it wasn't even funny.

"What's the matter Blair? Are you afraid I might give you the swirly next?" Jack laughed. "I think we should see if Blair will come to your rescue like you did for her yesterday." And with that the older boy flushed the bowl again and shoved Chuck's head back into the water.

Chuck began hitting out again, trying to free himself from Jack's clutches, punching the Jack in the legs and chest.

Blair watched in horror as Jack took pleasure in Chuck's distress. The older boy was crouched in a semi squatting position, leaning over the toilet bowl and Blair couldn't help but remember some wise words from Dorota on where men were most vulnerable. She eyed the delicate spot between Jack's legs and then, with every bit of strength she could muster, she pulled her leg back and then swung it forward hard, kicking Jack squarely in the nuts with her patent leathers and screeching once again, "I said let him go!"

Jack's head and testicles seemed to explode into white pain and he crumpled immediately to the floor, his hands leaving Chuck to cup what was left of his manhood.

Blair grabbed Chuck by the hand and, grabbing a towel as they went, pulled him from the bathroom into the hall and foyer and then into the elevator. Once inside she pushed several buttons like she'd seen Chuck do the day before. Once she was sure they were moving and safe she placed the towel on Chuck's head and gently began to dry him off.

Chuck was totally flabbergasted as to what had just happened. He put his little hands over hers to stop her from drying him off. "You shouldn't have done that," he said quietly.

"Why not?" she asked as she attempted to dry him some more. "He was hurting you."

He stopped her again. "I'm used to it. But he's going to hate you now," he answered, his eyes catching hers.

Blair swallowed hard as she saw the fear written on his face. "So what? You're my friend. I…, I couldn't just let him keep hurting you."

"But now he's going to hurt you too."

**XOXO**

The two of them spent the next couple of hours or so in their hidey-hole behind the mechanical room chatting and looking at comics and just becoming friends. "My dad will be home tonight," Chuck informed her. "That means we'll be safe from Jack. And tomorrow we start school so we won't see him as much as we do on the weekends and on holidays," he said to her.

"That's good isn't it?" Blair asked.

He nodded. "Yes. When Jack's busy he leaves me alone. Maybe he'll forget what you did to him this afternoon," he suggested with an air of uncertainly.

"I doubt it," she replied, feeling a little more than worried about what she'd done now that Chuck had expressed his concern.

**XOXO**

"So Blair, I trust that you're settling in well," Bart commented at the dinner table later that evening.

Blair looked at the terrifying man and just nodded.

Bart looked over at his son and scowled. "And Charles, Jack has informed me that you've been acting like a little animal the last couple of days again. And your running away and teaching your bad behaviors to Miss Waldorf is getting you both into trouble. Now we've already discussed you behavior several times, have we not?"

Chuck dropped his head and nodded to his father knowing that any attempt to defend himself would just land him in further trouble elsewhere.

"Mr. Bass," Blair interjected. "Chuck has only been trying to help me. We haven't meant to cause any trouble. It's just…..," she stopped, not knowing how much she should say. She didn't notice the warning look Chuck was trying to send her, nor the look of hatred coming from Jack.

Bart furled his brow. There were too many children at the table and he was beginning to get a headache. "It's just what?" he asked impatiently, wanting the dinner talk to be over.

"It's just that Jack is so mean to us. We had to run away so he couldn't hurt Chuck any more."

"What do you mean he was mean to you?" Bart glared at his younger brother. "What did he do?"

"Well he was saying mean things to me and Chuck rescued me and then today, he threw food at us and then flushed Chuck's head in the toilet! I…, I only kicked him because he was hurting Chuck."

Bart looked at Blair and he forced a smile. He hated a tattle tale but appreciated that Blair hadn't had any siblings to deal with in her life, so this was likely all new to her. "We don't tattle –tale in this house," he informed her and then looked at Jack. "And I'll be speaking to you after dinner."

Blair felt her face go red as she realized her error. She dared not look at either boy for the rest of the meal knowing they'd both be angry with her.

Bart changed the subject and discussed school with the kids instead. The younger ones would be taken to their new class in the morning by the new housekeeper/ come nanny, and Jack would take the limo to St. Jude's an hour later when his classes started. "I am expecting you all to work on homework promptly after school before dinner every night. Is that clear?" he asked them all, keeping his gaze mostly on Jack.

"Crystal!" Jack snapped as he threw his napkin down and abruptly left the table.

"Excuse me," Bart said as he got up and followed his younger brother out of the dining room.

A moment later they could hear the arguing in the hall.

"We will not have a repeat of last semester, is that understood?" Bart snapped. "And we've talked about you disciplining my son before. It is not your responsibility, but mine!" he added.

"You are not my father!" Jack bit as he turned around and glared at his older brother. "And maybe if you were here a little more often to deal with you son's bullshit, then I'd let up on him. But you're not, are you? And now that you've brought that whiney, spoiled little brat in here, it's twice as bad!"

"You know how busy I am with this company. And Blair is my responsibility, Jack. She is as welcome in this house as you are," Bart stated, hoping to drive the point home to his younger brother. "And you of all people should sympathize with what she must be going through right now. You were scarcely older than her when you had to move in with Missy and I. So leave the poor girl alone. Besides, I'm hoping that Blair might be a good influence on Charles. And God knows she might be the only friend that poor kid will ever have at the rate he's going."

"That little bitch kicked me in the nuts!" Jack defended. "She's lucky I didn't rip her head off!"

"Jack, leave her be, she's a little girl. And her and Charles are going to be too busy with school as of tomorrow to be in your way. So you need to find other ways to entertain yourself away from them. I want no more chaos in this house!"

"And as for your performance in school this year and me not being your father…," he continued….

Back in the dining room both Chuck and Blair fidgeted in discomfort at overhearing the conversation between Jack and Bart. Both were embarrassed and not sure what to say to the other. Finally Blair broke the silence. "I'm sorry I told your dad. I thought he could help us," she confessed.

"He don't care," Chuck replied sadly. "All he cares 'bout is his stupid company. And Jack never gets in trouble.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because Jack's his little brother, not his daddy. Their mamma died when Jack was just little, like us. My mom an dad had ta take him in 'cause no one else would, not even his own daddy," Chuck replied.

Blair 's heart went out to the older boy upon hearing that. She knew if her daddy could have, he would have taken care of her after her mother died. How sad must it have been for young Jack when his own father had turned his back on him in his hour of need. "Oh, poor Jack," she cried, her eyes welling up with tears.

Chuck slipped out of his chair and came over to stand beside her. "Don't feel sorry for him," he advised. "Jack's always been mean. Daddy told me Jack's daddy was a mean person too. He's in jail for hurt'n someone."

Blair's eyes began to flow at Chuck's comment. "My father's in jail, too," she said. "Does that mean I'm going to be a bad person too?"

Chuck put his little arms around her and hugged her. "I don't think so," he answered. "You're to good to ever be bad."

**XOXO**

"Miss Blair, is time to wake up!" a familiar sounding voice called to her deep within her dream.

Blair smiled at the memory of Dorota.

"Miss Blair, you have school today. The nanny says I am to get you ready for your first day of new school."

Blair opened her eyes and squealed in delight to find her former housekeeper was really sitting next to her on the bed. "Dorota!" she squealed in delight as she wrapped her arms around the woman's neck.

"Is so good to see you too, Miss Blair," the housekeeper replied. "But is time to get up now. This nanny and housekeeper seem very strict. She give me orders to get you up and down to eat. No time for bath, but I will help with clothes and hair. The limo will take you and Mr. Chuck to your new school in less than one hour."

"No bath?" Blair asked in dismay.

Dorota shook her head. "Things are different in this house. I told you I would try to see you again. This is new job for me, but I will be here to help only a little with you and maybe also with Mr. Chuck. Now you must be good girl and do like you are told."

Blair nodded her head. She was so grateful to see a familiar and friendly face that she would do whatever she had to, just so Dorota could stay with her.

The Constance/ St. Jude's Primary school was an intimidating looking building for both young children. Chuck and Blair held hands as they made their way to the gymnasium to sit with the other children for their introductory assembly. Both children looked around, large eyed as they took in the surroundings. Neither of them had gone to Kindergarten the year before, so every other child was a complete stranger to them, yet most of them seeded to know the others.

When all of the first graders were escorted down the hall and into another large room, they were told to line up for roll call. Soon a bouncy blond haired girl came to stand next to Blair and introduced herself. "I'm Serena," she claimed. "Are you twins?"

Blair and Chuck looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Oh! Are you brother and sister?" the blond asked.

Again the two of them shook their heads.

Serena scrunched up her nose in confusion. "Then why are you holding hands? Are you boyfriend and girlfriend or something like that?"

Chuck immediately dropped Blair's hand and hung his head.

"We're best friends," Blair defended to the girl. She picked up Chuck's hand again and squeezed it.

"We'se best frens," Chuck repeated proudly. "Her name's Blair and I'm Chuck Bass."

A little girl with long, dark, haphazard braids came over and stood next to Serena. "Who's this?" she asked.

Serena smiled. "Georgina, this is Chuck and Blair," she repeated.

"How come you're holding hands? Are you twins or something?" Georgina asked the two of them.

"'It's cause we're best frens," Chuck answered proudly.

Georgina scowled at him. "How come you talk so funny? Do you come from the Ozarks or someplace like that?"

Chuck blushed and he held his head down in shame. Jack had often teased him about the way he talked. But he couldn't help it. It was how he had learned. And up until now he'd always thought he sounded fine and that Jack had just been being a jerk like he usually was. Now he worried. Maybe there really was something wrong with him after all.

Blair looked at Chuck, realizing he felt hurt. Then her eyes shot over to Georgina in disgust. "How come you're so rude?" she asked. "Don't you know any better? And where did you come from, the gutter?"

Georgina glared at Blair and she grabbed Serena by the arm. "Come on, S. We don't want to be friends with people like them," she announced loud enough for most of the other first graders to hear.

"Well nobody wants to be friends with a bully either," Blair retorted.

Both children were dismayed to learn that they would not be in the same class together. Chuck looked back at Blair as his class was escorted down the hall to another room. Blair fought off the urge to cry, knowing she'd see him again at lunch. She took her place at her appointed desk, noticing immediately that Serena was in her group. She equally noted that Georgina was not in her class, but then grew concerned know that that meant she would be in class with Chuck. Blair tried not to worry as she eagerly anticipated all the magic that school was going to bring into her life.

Chuck, on the other hand, was withdrawn and owly as he found himself sitting with a few other boys. The kid behind him was picking his nose and the one next to him looked like he was going to cry for his mom. In fact the boy's mother stood in the back of the room with a few other over protective parents to watch over her little man's first day in the big world. Chuck shook his head in disgust.

His teacher was a large effeminate man who was cheerfully talking about rules and projects and other boring things that Chuck really couldn't give a shit about. Instead of listening he glanced around the room until his eyes locked with a brilliant pair of ice blue ones. Great, he thought sarcastically, that mean girl is in my class.

Georgina stuck her tongue out at him and he felt his face turning red again. He knew how to deal with bullies like her. After all, he had one at home. He knew if he just stayed away and ignored her, she'd likely back off and let him be. And that was what he intended to do. Unfortunately for him, he didn't know that Georgina Sparks was ruthless and like his uncle, she wouldn't give up once her head had decided on a mission. And her mission, after Blair's comment earlier, was to destroy both Chuck and Blair.

**XOXO**

When lunch hour rolled around Chuck immediately scouted the outside picnic area to see if he could find Blair. He frowned when he noticed her sitting between two blond kids, the girl from this morning and a boy from his class.

Chuck sat across from Blair and he took a sandwich out of his Power Ranger lunch box, hungrily biting into it. He was so pissed off at the presence of the other kids, and so upset over his shitty first morning at school, that it wasn't even funny.

Blair, on the other hand, was giddy and having the time of her life. She loved her class and her new girlfriend, Serena. She had already scored brownie points with her teacher when she demonstrated her ability to do her math practice sheet independently and without using her fingers, and to read out loud to the class. When she handed in her printing page to the teacher, she was praised again and her work was posted on the board for others to use as a model.

Blair finally stopped chatting long enough to pull her sandwich out of her Barbie lunch box and pick the crusts off of it. She frowned when she took a bite and discovered bologna for the first time in her life. She promptly spit it out.

Chuck laughed at her. "What's amatter? Don'cha like balonie?"

Just then they heard laughter coming from another couple of kids behind them.

"See, I told you he talked funny!" Georgina commented rudely.

"Maybe he's a retard or something," the larger boy said as he cocked his head and stared at Chuck. "Hey kid, are you retarded?" he asked with a laugh.

Serena turned around and glared at him. "Carter Baison, you take that back!" she yelled at him and then looked at Georgina. "Why are you being so mean to Chuck?" she asked. "He's Blair's friend!"

"Because he talks funny," Georgina repeated and she rolled her eyes. She walked around where Serena was sitting next to Blair and she sat on her other side. Then she looked at Blair who still had the bologna sandwich in her hand, unsure of what to do with it. "You shouldn't eat that, you know," Georgina said in a feigned caring voice. "You're already pretty fat."

Blair set the sandwich down and frowned, lowering her eyes. Her mother had commented on her weight in the past and Georgina's words stung her.

"Hey, aren't you Blair Waldorf?" Carter asked suddenly.

Blair raised her eyes and looked at him. She offered a quick nod.

"Your dad's in jail right? Didn't he steal a bunch of money or something?"

Nate and Serena looked at Blair with large eyes. "Did he really?" Nate asked as he pulled the tab on his pudding snack. He'd never met anyone whose father was in jail before.

Georgina smirked, adding this information to the little portfolio she had opened on Chuck and Blair in her brain. "Hmpf! I bet she's a thief, just like her daddy!" she added. "What lovely kids they're allowing into our school these days. A retard and a thief…. I'll have to speak to my father about this."

Chuck jumped up and went around to where Georgina was sitting and he poked her in the chest. "Yer a bully!" he labeled. "Leave us alone!"

Carter followed and immediately stepped in between Chuck and Georgina and shoved Chuck hard enough so that the boy landed on his bum on the grass. "Hey, hands off, asshole!" he yelled.

Chuck stared daggers at Carter. But he wouldn't cry. He'd had to put up with an abusive uncle for years and knew not to let Carter see him vulnerable. And although he knew he should walk away and tell a teacher, he also knew he shouldn't tattle, but should fight his own battles instead.

He didn't notice that Blair had left her seat and was standing behind him. "Leave us alone!" she screeched just as Chuck tried to stand up again to face Carter.

But Chuck never got the opportunity to even stand up. Before he was even on his feet again, Carter knocked him flat.

"Retard!" Carter spat. "Have to get your girlfriend to fight your battles, do you?"

At that point, Chuck lost it. Before Carter could even think, Chuck had jumped up and smashed his fist into Carter's nose, sending a huge spray of blood over everyone at the picnic table. And Chuck didn't stop there. He immediately began to pummel the shit out of the older boy, despite the cries of the other kids, including Blair, to stop it. It was only when the teachers on supervision intervened, that he stopped.

"I told you he was retarded," Georgina added as she escorted Carter and one teacher into the nurse's office.

Blair followed the other teacher who was dragging Chuck down to the office. She couldn't believe they were sending him home.

"Another Bass brat," the principal snapped as he assessed the boy in front of him. The man knew Jack Bass very well and was only too pleased to have gotten rid of the troublemaker a few years ago when Jack entered junior high school. "And who are you?" he asked of Blair. "Please don't tell me there is a sister!"

"I'm Blair Waldorf," she replied quietly. "I'm Chuck's friend. And Chuck was only defending himself against those two bullies. It's not his fault…. We were only trying to have our lunch," she defended.

The principal scowled. "What bullies do you mean?" he asked the little girl who was groomed to perfection, despite the splatter of blood across her uniform and white sweater.

"A bigger boy named Carter and Georgina Sparks. She's in Chuck's class. They were making fun of him and then Carter pushed him…."

Chuck looked at her and he shook his head. He sent a 'No tattling' look her way and she quickly closed her mouth and looked down.

"I agree those two can be a handful," the man admitted. But then he recalled that Jack Bass had to have been the biggest Bully he'd ever had the misfortune of dealing with. If this kid was anything like him, he had no doubt that Chuck had instigated the entire thing.

That's enough tattling out of you," the man bit as he glared at Blair. "We do not use physical violence in this academy, is that clear, Mr. Bass."

Chuck lowered his eyes and nodded his head.

"You are suspended until we can meet with your father and think of some restitution. Carter Baison will also be suspended for pushing you down. If you two boys wish to remain at this school, I suggest you stay away from each other, is that clear?"

"Yes sir," Chuck mumbled as he stared at his shoes.

They sat in the office for the rest of the lunch hour waiting for Bart Bass to show up and retrieve his son. When he arrived, the angry father just shook his head as he headed back into the principal's office with Chuck. "Go to class, Blair," he growled. "The limo will pick you up after school. Understood.

Blair looked at Bart and she nodded, trying not to cry from worry over Chuck. "Yes, sir," she replied.

**XOXO**

That afternoon, Blair did her best to follow direction from the teacher and go about her work, instead of dwelling on Chuck. She soon found that burrowing herself in her tasks seemed to cover up the sorrow of that noon hour and make the day pass pleasantly.

"I put your lunch box under your coat," Serena told her later at recess.

"Thanks, S," Blair replied.

When Georgina approached the two of them to play, she scoffed at Blair. "Where's your retarded boyfriend," she asked sarcastically.

Blair stared at the bully and did her best to control herself. "For your information, Chuck is the smartest boy I know," she replied. "And the strongest, too. I mean Carter is in third grade, isn't he? Imagine a first grader beating him up! How humiliating!" Then she looked at the little girl a little closer and again noticed the messy braid. But this time she looked further noting the scuffs on her shoes and the crooked hem of her dress. "Why is your hair so messy and are those hand-me-downs you're wearing?" she asked in horror.

It was now Georgina's turn to blush. Her family was known to be thrifty, especially when it came to dealing with heir out of control and careless daughter. She looked at Blair and glared at her. She was actually at a loss for words.

Blair realized her catty comments, although impolite, had shut the bully up. She smirked and then looked at Serena and giggled, taking her hand. "Come on, S. Lets go and play on the swings."

Serena nodded and off the two of them ran, leaving a disheartened Georgina behind.

**}i{ }i{ }i{**

Jack thrust one last time into the girl beneath him and he grunted with release. "Fuck!" he managed as he collapsed on top of her.

"Jack," the girl replied as she sent a stream of kisses up his neck. "I…, I love you."

The words made his semi hard manhood shrivel up completely and slide out of her. "Uh, Cassie, you know I don't do girlfriends, right?" he asked in disgust. He quickly rolled off of her and reached for a Kleenex from the top of his headboard to wipe the mess that was now on his legs.

The girl sat up and glared at him as she tried to fight the tears off in her eyes. "But I thought …"

"Shhh, that's where you went wrong, sweetheart," he condescended. "No thinking here. Just fucking. Remember?"

The girl scooted over to the edge of the bed and stood, looking for the clothes that had been so hastily shed just moments before. She was about to step into Jack's bathroom when his bedroom door opened.

"Jack!" Bart said in alarm as he saw what had obviously just happened in his younger brother's room. "What are you doing here? And why aren't you in school?"

The girl squealed in humiliation and quickly closed the bathroom door.

"Um, well…," Jack began, trying to think of a lie. "We only had half a day today for locker assignment and assembly," he answered skillfully. "The other grades were to come in this afternoon. And you can see what I was doing," he smirked. "Better question is, why are you home in the middle of the day?" he asked his older brother.

"Chuck got suspended for fighting already," Bart replied with a frown. "It's going to cost me a fortune to keep him in school at the rate this boy is going. A new wing for the school's new library and he's out for three days," he said with a shake of his head.

"And Blair?" Jack asked curiously.

"I sent her back to class. Her teacher says she is a model student and way ahead of the other kids in her learning," he commented. "But she was by his side and defended him until the two of them were separated and I sent her back to class."

So, she'd stuck by him again, Jack noted sourly. "Who was he fighting?" he asked curiously.

"Carter Baison, I believe. He's two years older than Chuck. But I guess Chuck got him pretty good," Bart replied with just a hint of pride.

Jack nodded. He knew first hand that Chuck could issue a punch. Jack motioned over to the bathroom door. "His sister," he said with a grin.

Bart shook his head and smirked. This was kind of funny in some ways, but was not appropriate, he thought. "Which one? Emily or Cassandra?" he asked.

"Cassie. Emily was last year, remember?" Jack asked with a smirk.

Bart nodded. He remembered the nightmare of dealing with the girl's upset parents last year. "You recall their father works for me, right?" he asked, silently praying that another incident didn't result from Jack's seemingly insatiable sex drive. "Besides, you need to stop bring those kind of sluts into the house when we have young, impressionable minds around. So please get rid of her and be a little more discreet in the future," Bart commented as he turned his head and began to leave. "And Jack, make sure you're in school all day tomorrow," he added as he turned to walk out the door.

Bart was not impressed to see that Chuck had been watching the entire interaction between he and Jack from his room across the hall. "And you," he said as he pointed to his young son. "Stay in this room until Blair gets home. I've arranged to have your schoolwork brought home every night until they permit you back."

**XOXO**

Chuck lay on his bed all afternoon waiting for Blair to come home from school. He watched as Jack's girl reappeared from the bathroom and quickly dressed, not seeming to care that the younger boy was watching her from across the hall. Jack raised his brows and smirked once again knowing his nephew was getting an eyeful. "You can let yourself out," he'd finally said to the teary eyed girl as he turned his back on her and picked up the Gameboy from his bedside table and began to play.

"Emily was right. You really are a prick," Cassandra expressed as she headed down the hall and stairs to leave the penthouse.

Jack waited until he heard the elevator ding and he got up and went into Chuck's room. "So, Carter Baison, eh?" he asked noting the hint of a shiner beginning to form under Chuck's left eye.

Chuck shrugged his shoulder and turned to look up at his ceiling. He really didn't want to discuss what happened with Jack.

"You'd better watch him," Jack warned. "I had a run in with their oldest brother, Terry, last winter. Those boys fight dirty."

Once again Chuck shrugged. "Can't be any dirtier than you do," he commented. After living with Jack's abuse, Carter had actually seemed rather simple to beat. The boy only had maybe gotten in one or two shots, Chuck thought.

"Just trying to help here, Chuck. The thing you need to know about fighting is that if you're implicated, you'll be suspended. Better to pay someone else to do your dirty work for you. You're a Bass. Start using your money to your advantage. It'll buy you just about anything you need: protection, power, popularity, girls ….., anything !" He noted that Chuck had stopped fidgeting and was likely paying attention to what he was saying. But when the younger boy failed to acknowledge him or his advice, he just sighed and walked back into his room, shutting his door behind him. He wasn't sure why he'd even bothered to offer the suggestion to his nephew. For the most part, he hated the little turd.

For Chuck it seemed to take forever for Blair to make it home from school that afternoon.

"I'm on the library fundraising committee," she told him excitedly as she spread his work out for him on the table in the study. "That's why I'm so late. But I can help you with your homework, if you like. We did the same assignments in my class this morning." She picked up the math sheet and looked it over.

"I don't care 'bout homework," he replied hurriedly. "I want'cha ta teach me how to talk proper."

Blair put down the paper and she scowled. "They were just being bullies," she reinforced to him. "I think you talk all right."

"No, ya don't. I know I talk funny an I need ya to help me. Will ya do it?" he asked eagerly.

Blair nodded her head and she sat down at their worktable. For him, she'd do anything.

**XOXO**

**A/N: **The story is going to jump ahead here shortly so I can move the plot along as intended. Yes, the two of them are living amongst bullies and creeps. It's part of the dynamic needed to get them where I want them later. Please be patient. Reviews are always appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**A/N: this story has jumped ahead a few years….**

**XOXO**

It never ceased to amaze him how completely in control Blair always seemed to be in social situations. Chuck looked at his best friend and he grinned with pride as he watched her tear a strip off of a couple of girls in the mall one afternoon, who had dared breech her strict fashion code.

"Tights are not pants!" Blair continued on to the two girls who stood in front of her near to tears. "And straighten your hairbands, you look like you went through a wind tunnel!"

She shook her head and went to stand next to Chuck, wanting to distance herself from these two particular minions. "Just because it's a Saturday doesn't mean they have to dress like street urchins!" she commented with a roll of her eyes.

She noticed his ear-to-ear grin and she stopped. "What are you smiling about, Bass?" she asked with an air of feigned irritation.

"You," he admitted as he draped an arm casually across her shoulders. "The way you handle those girls is unbelievable. They were practically quaking in their shoes."

"Ugh! Don't get me going about their shoes," she said with a smirk.

He laughed, knowing he could have her going on a tangent within moments if he wanted. He squeezed her shoulder and dropped his arm. "Are you nervous about Jack's return tomorrow?" he asked her more seriously.

She shrugged her shoulders and looked at him cautiously. Without having to ask, she knew that Chuck was very worried about Jack's return to the Bass penthouse suite. "The last few times he was home he just ignored us," she reminded him. "I figure it'll be the same this time."

"But this time it's because he's been kicked out of school. You didn't hear the fight they were having on the phone last night. I did. I don't know what Bart paid for him to get into Columbia this late in the semester, but it must have been a fortune!" Chuck explained.

Blair shrugged her shoulders and sighed. "We're all older now. Jack is practically an adult. He's not going to want to pick on a couple of middle school kids. It would be beneath him."

"We were always beneath him, but it ever stopped him from picking on us before," Chuck reminded her.

Blair took his hand and squeezed it softly. "I know he was hard on you, but I really think it's over with. Besides, we don't have to be at home all the time any more, we can always go out," she reminded him. "And if we don't stop talking and get going, I won't have a new dress to wear to Serena's birthday party tonight."

Chuck looked at her and he nodded. He let go of her hand and the two of them continued shopping. But he was not convinced. Jack's return home had him worried, more so than it had in a long time.

Since she had moved in with them, life with Jack had been hell for both Chuck and Blair. Besides the general bullying, Jack had been instrumental in seeing that the two of them were constantly in trouble with Bart over one thing or another. At one point things were so bad that both children had been threatened with boarding school. If it hadn't been for Dorota's insistence that they were innocent, it may have even happened.

But as his high school years progressed, Jack spent less and less time at home and more of it out and about with the shady characters of his peer group. Finally he had graduated and was on his way to college out of state, a huge relief to the two remaining kids in the suite. But unfortunately, that reprieve had lasted less than a year. Jack had gotten caught purchasing term papers and had been expelled for cheating and plagiarism. Bart was livid and Jack was returning that weekend. And Chuck just knew that things would worsen once again when his uncle returned home.

**XOXO**

Blair's eyes were wide as she spied the disco lights blinking to the blaring music as they entered the party that evening. This was the party they'd all been talking about last week: no parents, would be there, boys had been invited, and dancing and fun on a level few of them had ever experienced before.

She grimaced as she watched Carter Baison and a few other older kids parked on a couch in the living room. She had known Georgina Sparks had been invited to the party, but didn't know that her entourage of older friends would be accompanying her. She shook her head and nodded towards the crew, knowing that Chuck wouldn't be pleased.

"Blair, Chuck, so glad you could make it," Serena sang as she greeted her guests and took their coats. "Help yourself to punch and snacks," she said as she took their coats into a spare bedroom with the others.

Chuck escorted Blair over to the refreshment table and he got them both a cup of punch. You could smell the alcohol in it from a mile away, Blair thought as she brought the glass to her lips and sampled it. It wasn't as bad as she thought it might be and nodded to Chuck in approval.

It wasn't long before most of the kids at the party were becoming rather tipsy. When Carter started passing around a joint, however, Blair began to feel most uncomfortable. Like alcohol, she and Chuck were not strangers to what pot was, along with several other recreational types of drugs, either. Jack often smoked up in his room and had even managed to convince his nephew to try it long ago. Blair found the smell sickening and waved the joint away when it was passed to her by her peers.

"Try to loosen up and have some fun, Blair," Chuck grumbled when he caught her giving him the evil eye as he took another toke off the joint Serena passed him. "This is supposed to be a party."

She blushed for a moment and then gathered herself and bit back. "This isn't fun for me, ok? In fact it's making me rather uncomfortable."

"Which is all the more reason to loosen up," he said as he passed her the joint. "Besides, nothing is going to happen. You know I'll take care of you."

Blair nodded and she finally accepted the joint, wondering if maybe she really should at least try it. She took a little bit into her lungs and instantly began to cough on the thick, sweet smoke.

"You need to hold it in your mouth a little and slowly breathe it into your lungs," Chuck coached as he took another toke, this time exaggerating the motions for her benefit. He passed it back to her again and nodded with approval as she tried once more and then again, to smoke the thing. Finally she passed it back to him and he grinned. "See, you're a natural!"

Blair felt her head becoming a little thick and Chuck's voice sounded kind of funny. She nodded and leaned in closer to him, smiling when he wrapped his arm around her shoulder protectively.

Soon the party switched into high gear and everyone was up dancing and laughing together. Blair was feeling rather wild and free and soon found herself dancing on the coffee table next to Serena. When the music switched to another song, she found the handsome Nate Archibald holding his hand out to help her and Serena both down. She found herself blushing when his warm hand held onto hers and he helped her down. Thank-you," she said shyly as she made her way back over to Chuck.

Chuck felt his stomach tense up when he saw the blush rise on Blair's cheeks at Nate's touch. He knew that Blair found the tall, blond boy attractive and the thought made him angry. When the music slowed down to a waltz Chuck took Blair by the hand and then wrapped his arms around her to slow dance.

Blair placed her hands on his shoulders and she relaxed into his hold, sighing as she rested her head on his chest.

"Are you having a good time?" he asked as he stroked her back affectionately.

She nodded and snuggled in closer to him, melting his heart a little. "I am. How about you?"

He smiled and kissed the top of her head, pulling her even closer to him. Although the two of them were together most every day, they seldom touched or hugged one another as they had as children any more. And he missed this level of contact with her horribly. She just felt so right in his arms like this. "I am," he replied.

When the song ended they pulled apart and both grimaced when Georgina Sparks turned the lights on. She soon went around and handed each boy a piece of paper, folded in half. "Now for those of you who haven't played before, the game goes like this: Every boy has a number. The girls are going to draw another set of numbers from a hat. The number they draw will match with one of the ones that the boys have been given. Whoever calls your number is your partner. You have to spend 5 minutes alone with them, doing whatever it is you want to do," she explained. "As it is Serena's birthday, it'll be her turn to draw first."

Blair frowned. She'd never played this game before, although she had played spin the bottle a couple of times before where quick kisses were exchanged in the group. She wasn't sure she wanted to play this game. She sat back on a couch next to Chuck and watched as Serena pulled the first number from the hat.

"Thirteen," she called excitedly and looked around to see who her partner was going to be. She squealed with delight when Carter stood up and flashed his number to her.

Carter eagerly took Serena's hand and escorted her to the room where the coats had been taken earlier.

"Somebody keep time," Georgina laughed as she watched her two friends head into the darkened room.

"I don't think I like this game," Blair admitted quietly to Chuck. 'What are you supposed to do in there for 5 minutes?"

Chuck grinned at his friend's innocence. "You're suppose to make out," he replied back rather bluntly.

Blair turned and looked at him, her face drained of color. "Like kissing and stuff?" she asked in confusion.

He chuckled. "Yeah, like kissing…. And other stuff."

"What other stuff do you mean, Chuck?" she asked in alarm.

"Well, maybe you want to touch each other and make out a little," he replied.

"God, Aren't we a little too young for that?" she asked. Blair knew all about making out. Her and Chuck had heard Jack and his women and had seen more than their fair share of inappropriate sexual innuendos and behavior from the older boy. She thought it was disgusting.

"Well, maybe for some, but we're not little kids anymore, Blair. If you don't want to do anything, just tell the guy that, ok?" Chuck was beginning to get a little worried about her. He didn't want anyone else touching his girl, even though she wasn't officially his girlfriend or anything like that. But the thought of Blair with another guy, touching or kissing them, made his blood boil. But Blair nodded; glad to hear that making out was optional.

A couple of minutes later, someone yelled, "Time" and Serena and Carter sheepishly came out of the room, looking somewhat rumpled and grinning like crazy. It was obvious what they'd been doing and Blair groaned in disgust.

The next few numbers were called and then it was Blair's turn. She nervously drew out the number seven, and then grinned when she saw Nate Archibald stand and approach her, blushing a deep shade of red.

Chuck closed his eyes and fought back the urge to pull Blair away from the blond boy and take her home. Of all the guys at this party, this was the one he wanted to see her go into that room with, the least.

Blair entered the darkened room with Nate and she stood facing him.

"What are we supposed to do in here?" he asked innocently.

"Kiss and stuff," Blair replied bashfully as she looked down at her shoes in embarrassment.

"Oh!" Nate replied as he felt his face burning red again.

"But…, but you don't have to if you don't want to," she added in shame, thinking he likely didn't want to kiss her. She was more than aware that the blond had always seemed to like her friend better than her.

Nate looked at Blair's burning face and he grinned, realizing she was as new at this as he was. "Well, do you want to?" he asked courageously.

"Want to what? Kiss?" she asked as she looked up at his face in confusion and fear.

"Only if you want to," he reinforced.

"Do you?" she asked shyly.

"I think you're really pretty, Blair. I think I'd like to kiss you," he admitted. "But only if you want to."

Blair blushed again and she nodded. "I think I'd like that too," she agreed as she stepped in front of him.

Nate swallowed back a lump of fear and he stood closer to her, leaning down and placing his lips on hers gently.

Blair sighed and kissed him back softly, stopping only when they heard, "Time," shouted from their peers.

Chuck eyed Blair as she returned next to her place beside him, her face flushed and her eyes down. "Well?" he asked, not really wanting to confirm what he suspected had happened.

"We kissed," she admitted bashfully. "I really like Nate. And…, it was nice."

Chuck closed his eyes and he sighed as he felt his heart rip in two. He nodded and said nothing, wanting this party to be over.

"Fourteen!" the girl called again, unimpressed that her match hadn't called out.

"Chuck, that's you," Blair reminded him.

Chuck's head snapped up as he looked at the caller. Georgina Sparks grinned at him as she realized who her partner was.

He sighed and stood up, begrudgingly following Georgina into the room as he was supposed to.

The girl quickly wrapped her arms around him and pulled her body flush with his.

"We don't like each other, remember?" Chuck reminded her.

Georgina grinned and she ran her hand down his chest. "That's when we were younger and you talked funny," she said. She looked at him and took his hands in hers, directing them to her small breasts. "But we're bigger now and I think you're sexy," she admitted and she began to kiss him, encouraging him to touch her as she ground her body wantonly against his.

Chuck felt himself becoming aroused as his hands began to fondle her breasts.

Georgina felt his growing erection and she slipped her hands down and inside his trousers where she began to stroke him harder. She grinned into his mouth when she heard him groan in pleasure. Quickly she walked him over to the bed and pulled him down with her. And before Chuck knew what was happening, she had his pants off and he was touching her down below.

"Fuck me, Chuck," she growled as she wrapped her legs around him and brought him closer to her center.

At this point, Chuck was too far-gone in his heat to refuse her. He quickly entered her and began to thrust for all he was worth. He came just as the word, "Time" was called from behind the door.

"You're pretty good at this," Georgina cooed as she got off the bed and adjusted her clothing. "We'll have to do that again when there's more time…."

Chuck snapped back into reality, realizing what he had just done, and he blanched in disgust at the girl in front of him. "Never!" he replied as he pulled on his pants and slicked back his hair. "You sicken me!"

Georgina stared in disbelief as she watched him walk out the door, leaving her behind. She never thought she could hate someone as much as she hated Chuck Bass at that moment.

"Let's go," Chuck growled as he approached Blair. He pulled her up hastily by the hand and started towards the penthouse elevator door.

"Chuck, our coats….," she cried in disbelief.

"We'll get them later," he snapped as they stepped into the elevator.

They didn't speak as the limo drove them back to the hotel and Blair didn't push him to tell her what was wrong, sensing it was the wrong time to question him. Instead she slipped next to him and took his hand in hers, squeezing it gently in silence.

**XOXO**

Blair awoke to the sound of two men arguing later the next morning. She groaned when the words, "You are not my father!" followed the slamming of a bedroom door down the hall. Jack was back!

She got out of bed and hopped under the shower, quickly washing and shampooing herself and wondering if Chuck was awake too. She wondered what had happened to him last night to cause him such anger, and she worried what the bitch, Georgina had done to him in that room to hurt him like she did when they were little.

She'd had trouble with Georgina for the first few years at school until the girl had sensibly gotten under control along with most of the other Constance girls. And both Georgina and Carter had basically stayed away from Chuck after Chuck had beaten him senseless that day, seemingly knowing better than to push their luck with him. Yet Blair knew that Georgina must have done something awful to him to make him respond as he had last night.

She dried her hair and quickly dressed, knowing that brunch would be served promptly at eleven and she was expected to attend. It was the only meal Bart Bass tried to be present for when he wasn't out of town on business, and everyone was expected to be there.

She knocked on Chuck's door before heading down, not waiting for him to respond.

"Jesus, Blair," he grumbled as he pulled the blankets over his mostly exposed body. "You should try knocking once in awhile."

Blair blushed, realizing she's seen him naked and she quickly apologized. "Sorry, I didn't want you to be late for brunch. Jack's home," she added for good measure.

"Yeah, so I heard," he mumbled as he turned over and snuggled back into one of his pillows.

"Chuck, you have to get up," she said as she went to sit next to him on his bed. "Are you not feeling well? Does this have something to do with what happened last night?" she asked.

Chuck groaned and he pulled the blankets over his head. "I don't want to talk about what happened last night!"

Blair pulled the covers away from his head and she frowned at him. "But something obviously did. You're not like this." Well not usually like this, she thought, remembering a few times when things had been particularly bad between him and Jack. Those were also time when he'd gotten really withdrawn and even weepy and wouldn't talk to her about what had happened to him. She was worried. "I'm worried about you, Chuck," she admitted as she stroked his hair lightly.

"You aren't my mother, Blair," he grumbled as he sat up and then slid off the bed.

Blair turned her head, realizing he was still naked. She bushed.

He grinned, knowing he was making her uncomfortable and he made his way into his bathroom. He turned on the shower and looked back. "You're welcome to join me if you want," he smarmed, knowing it would add to her discomfort.

"I'll see you downstairs," she replied as she fled his room and went down to the table.

"Where's my son?" Bart inquired when she slipped into her place at the table.

"He'll be down in a moment," she replied and decided to change the subject. "Where's Jack?"

Bart frowned. "My brother may not be joining us this morning," he answered gruffly. "He had an early flight and is in his room."

Blair nodded, knowing not to push further about Jack. Mr. Bass seemed to be in a pretty bad mood already. She poured herself a cup of tea and sat back in her chair sipping it until she heard the patter of feet on the stairs and then into the living room. She turned, expecting to see Chuck, but startled to see Jack instead.

His eye was an ugly shade of purple all around it. His nose was swollen and his lip was cut.

"Oh my God, What happened to you?" she asked, regretting it immediately once she did.

Jack frowned at her and then took his place at the table. 'Where's Chuck?" he asked, ignoring Blair's rude question.

"He's in the shower," Blair replied, hoping the boy hadn't slipped back into bed, making her a liar. Then she remembered seeing him naked a few minutes ago and she blushed a deep crimson.

Jack looked at her questionably and he grinned, guessing as to why she might be blushing.

Blair blushed even deeper, as Jack looked at her like that, wishing Dorota would just hurry up and bring them some food so she could focus on breakfast and nothing else. She jumped when the chair beside her moved and Chuck slid next to her.

"Charles, I expect you to be on time for brunch," his father reminded him.

"Sorry, late night," Chuck mumbled as he reached for the teapot and poured himself a cup of tea. "Besides, there's no food here, anyways."

"That's besides the point," Bart replied angrily.

A moment later Dorota and another housemaid began bringing in trays of food for them. Blair placed one egg's benedict on her plate and a couple of pieces of fruit. Sunday brunch was the only time she allowed herself more than just a diet yogurt or a piece of fruit for breakfast.

"Better watch it, Waldorf, you're bound to get fat eating all that," Jack laughed.

Chuck looked at his uncle and he frowned. "Leave her alone," he growled under his breath.

Jack's leg shot out under the table and he kicked Chuck.

"Stop it!" Bart snapped. "There will be no more fighting in this house…., especially at the table. Understood?"

Blair nodded, pushing her plate away from her. She was no longer hungry.

Bart frowned. "Finish your brunch, Blair," he ordered.

"But I'm not hungry, thank-you," Blair replied.

"You haven't eaten more than two bites. Finish it," the man ordered.

Blair looked at Bart and realized that she wasn't being given an option. She had to eat. She nodded and picked up her fork, slowly forcing herself to eat and praying she wouldn't throw up at the table with every bite she made herself swallow.

When they were finally excused from the table she hurriedly ran up the stairs to her room, locking her bathroom door and purging every bite she'd forced herself to eat. When she was finished she sat on the bathroom floor and cried, knowing what she'd done was wrong.

"Blair, are you all right?" Chuck asked from the other side of the door a few minutes later.

"Go away, Chuck," she cried as she tried to wipe the tears away. "I want to be left alone."

"Open up," he said, ignoring her. "I want to make sure you're ok."

"What's the matter with Waldorf?" Jack asked with a laugh from the doorway.

Chuck walked over to the door and firmly shut it in Jack's face. "I said leave her alone!" he growled.

He walked back over to her bathroom door and he knocked again. "Please, Blair. Let me in."

Blair stood and wiped her eyes. She got her toothbrush and some paste ready and began to scrub at her teeth, choosing to ignore him. When that was done she washed her face and fixed her hair. She used the toilet and washed again, hoping he'd gone away. But when she finally unlocked the door, he nearly pounced on her.

"What did you do?" he asked accusingly, scanning her face over, trying to read her.

"Nothing…," she lied. "I'm fine."

He pulled her fiercely into a hug. "Don't let him get to you," he begged.

She nodded her head and wrapped her arms around him too. "What happened last night?" she asked, holding him closer.

Chuck trembled in her arms. He didn't want to tell her that he'd fucked Georgina. For not only was he ashamed of what he did, but on another level he felt that he had betrayed Blair. He'd thought about the two of them together as a couple from the time she first moved in with them. It was innocent at first, but as he started into puberty, Chuck had thought of Blair in more intimate details. He wanted her and although he knew they were too young for sex, he'd often fantasized about them being together sexually. But now that he'd given that part of him to Georgina, he knew he had ruined what should have been their perfect first time together. He was so sorry and felt so guilty, he didn't know what to do about it. He sighed and buried his face under her curls. "She was all over me," he finally admitted. "It makes me sick to my stomach."

Blair blanched and she pulled away from him. "She touched you? I…., I thought she hated you," she said. "Doesn't she hate you?"

He nodded. "I'm pretty sure she does," he agreed thinking of the look Georgina had shot him after his comment to her. "But I won't ever let her near me again."

**XOXO**

The next few days proved to be interesting at the Bass penthouse suite. Jack refused to go to Columbia, even though Bart had paid a fortune to get him in this late in the semester. As far as Jack was concerned, he was finished with school. The fighting between the brothers was enough to send Chuck and Blair scurrying out of the house until late every evening until finally Bart was called away for a couple of weeks on business.

When Nate Archibald called and asked Blair to accompany him to their school dance that Friday evening, she was shocked and then ecstatic about it. It was her first date. She decided then and there that Nate and her were destined to be together and Chuck's heart seemed to die a little more than it had with Georgina. He felt he was losing his best friend and his girl. He didn't know what to do.

That Friday he watched in disbelief and sorrow as the two of them danced together most of the evening. It was toughest during the slow songs, when their bodies clung together awkwardly, moving to the rhythm and he almost threw up when he saw the blond boy kiss her goodnight at the end of the night.

Blair was animated and in ecstasy the entire ride home. She didn't notice his quietness or his sullen mood. "Aren't you coming in?" she finally asked as their limo stopped outside the palace hotel at the end of the evening and he remained in his seat.

Chuck shook his head. "No, I was invited to another party," he lied as he closed the door hastily on her and bade the driver to speed away. He was so hurt over Blair and Nate's being together that he didn't know what to do with himself. He just knew he needed to get away from her and find something…., anything, to ease the pain he felt in his heart. He pulled open the bar in the back of the limo and helped himself to a generous glass of his father's best scotch. It was a start, he thought. He shot the first down in a second and hastily poured another, trying to wash the image of Blair and the blond boy out of his head. He had the driver cruise the city streets for awhile so he could drink and try and forget the night until he spied a familiar face coming down the sidewalk in front of him. He told the driver to pull over.

Chuck rolled down the window and watched as Carter Baison looked over to see who had stopped in the fancy limo in front of him and his friends.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't none other than Chuck Bass," he said with a slight slur. "What are you doing this far from your home?"

Chuck shrugged and he looked at the three girls that were hanging all over Carter. He recognized them as high school girls and he smirked. "I'm bored. And I like your friends," he smarmed. "You guys want to come in and party?" He held up the bottle and opened the door for them.

Carter raised an eyebrow and he laughed. "Well, all right! I'm willing to share my toys if you are."

Chuck nodded and laughed as the three girls and Carter piled into the limo, a busty blond settling immediately on his lap. Blair was lost to him now, he thought. So what did it matter any more?

**XOXO **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

He watched her descend the stairs and he sucked in his breath, deciding that he really shouldn't feel guilty about what he was planning. He'd been correct; Blair Waldorf was no longer a child. The swell of her breast and the soft curve of her hip confirmed the thought and caused an immediate tightening in his trousers. He discreetly adjusted himself as she brushed past him on the way to the foyer to meet her date. Her long black waves were held back off her face by a brilliant red headband that matched the elegant dress that hugged her lovely ass and the fashionable shoes that seemed to add miles to her shapely legs. "Is Chuck here?" he asked her casually as she quickly hugged the young man he'd ridden up in the elevator with only moments before.

"No, he hasn't been home in a couple of days," she said with concern. "I was hoping you knew where he was."

He shook his head. "Sorry, I haven't had the pleasure of my nephew's company in weeks," he said as he looked at the tall blond boy who had ended the hug far quicker than any normal boy would have. He smirked, knowing Nate was a harmless fool and noted that the lad was already completely baked.

Jack excused himself as he opened the door to his brother's office.

"I want to talk to you about the Bronson account," Bart growled as he motioned for Jack to sit down. "Tell me again what the fuck happened."

Jack stopped to help himself to a glass of scotch before sitting at the table across from Bart. He set his briefcase down on the floor next to him. He cleared his throat and shrugged. "You tell me. The deal was done. They were set to sign once the documents had been drawn up. Them changing their mind is hardly my problem," he added casually.

"The hell it isn't!" Bart snapped. "Our losing this deal is going to cost Bass Industries millions!"

"Again, that isn't my problem," Jack countered as he looked at his fingernails, thinking he should book a manicure with Janet tomorrow. "Besides, I told you I didn't want to work in this area. My interest lies in outcomes, not investments."

Bart could feel his blood pressure soaring and he forced himself to take a deep breath and not implode in anger and frustration. It didn't seem to matter what he did for his younger brother to help him get ahead, the kid just couldn't seem to make the effort to achieve anything. He'd thought that by setting Jack up with a serious client, the young man would finally get serious and close the deal for him appropriately. "Whether or not that is an area of interest for you is besides the point. You had one job to do and you blew it!"

Bart shook his heads and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, I am trying to help get you established in the company. But you need to change your attitude and buckle down, Jack. That deal was important. Now the Bronson's are signing with our greatest competitor."

Jack looked at Bart momentarily and he nodded. He shot the scotch back in two quick gulps and set the glass down on the table, his mind going back to the new computer software that was downloading in his suite. If he could get Bart to shut up, he'd have time to install the cameras before either of them got home. He sighed and drummed his fingers on the table. "I want to get a few items I've left from my old room if you don't mind," he said, letting Bart know he was finished with the conversation.

Bart frowned and rolled his eyes. "The company needs you to give more of yourself, Jack," he stressed. "I'll try and get you another project more to your liking, but if I do, you need to give it a hundred percent, is that clear?"

"Sure," Jack replied unconvincingly as he stood from the table and picked up his briefcase. He left the office, closing the door behind him and quickly made his way up the stairs, slipping silently into Chuck's room first.

**XOXO**

"You alright?" Nate asked after the server had taken their order for supper. "You seem a thousand miles away."

She looked over at her boyfriend and shook her head. "Not really."

"You're worried about Chuck," Nate said with a sigh. He knew the two were close, but he thought Blair's feelings for the guy were way stronger than they should be. After all, they were practically siblings, in his opinion. "He'll be fine. He's young and rich and is enjoying all the things he should be at his age."

Blair nodded. "I know. But I feel like he's slipping away from me. And I'm worried about him. I don't like the people he's hanging around most of the time. I don't like what he's becoming. And it's not just Chuck I'm worried about….," she said sadly.

Nate nodded. He knew Serena had begun to slip away from her too since the blond bombshell had begun seeing Carter Baison. He cringed, hating the thought of Serena with the older boy.

Blair frowned knowing Nate was thinking about Serena again. The girl was a subject she didn't care to discuss with her boyfriend, especially since her friend had let it slip that Nate had asked her out first before he'd called Blair that night so long ago. To know that she was the backup plan didn't help Blair's already poor self-esteem.

But the fact was that her only real female friend had drastically changed during the last couple of years. She now had a different, more negative, peer group and was becoming a different person because of it. Serena couldn't be trusted any more. Her former friend had become too unreliable, was inconsiderate and was becoming the poster child for adolescent angst. And after she'd dated Carter Baison, her blond friend had begun hanging out more and more often with the likes of Georgina Sparks; the combination of them earning a serious reputation of promiscuity and public intoxication.

Nate reached over and took Blair's hand in his, a gesture that was rare for him. "They'll be ok, B," he said with a gentle squeeze knowing the subject was making her feel worse. "Now, tell me about your dress for this Friday so I can get you a corsage to match."

**XOXO**

For the next few weeks, little changed at the Bass penthouse. Blair almost missed the days when Jack lived across the hall and when her and Chuck had to fight him and then escape into their little hidey hole in the storage surplus room. But now the penthouse just seemed too quiet and she was lonelier that she'd even been as a little girl.

When the letter arrived telling her about her father's parole hearing at the courthouse, Blair grew excited. If her father was released from prison she would be able to move back home again. But as much as Blair wanted to be with family again, the thought of it had her concerned.

The truth was, she'd only gone to visit Harold Waldorf a couple of times since he'd been sent to prison. The man was gaunt and had seemed fairly sullen and withdrawn to her, he was not the father she'd recalled from childhood at all.

Blair wasn't aware that Harold had been wracked with remorse for his crimes and was filled with guilt over his wife's suicide and his daughter being forced to live with the Bass family. He was riddled with depression and had become addicted to the homemade wine that was made by the inmates in secret and then traded for cigarettes, drugs and sex with the other inmates. He had also become involved in the penal drug trade and now had a nasty habit of using cocaine to help him deal with his poor mental health.

But now as she sat in the courtroom with only Dorota for support, Blair sadly realized that she would never live with the last living member of her family again. Her father's participation in the prison drug trade was not unknown to the guards and warden and thus his parole was flatly denied.

Harold was given permission to briefly speak to his daughter after the hearing. "It's best if you just forget about me," he told her flatly.

"I…, I can't do that Daddy. You're all the family I have left," she replied in tears.

Harold shook his head and his eyes grew stern. "I'm not the man you remember, Blair. And I never will be again. I don't want you coming back to see me again, and stop writing me letters. I won't accept anything from you any more."

"Daddy, no….," she cried in disbelief.

"I mean it Blair. Stay away! You are to get on with your life and forget I ever existed. And if that's hard for you, then just remember it's because of me that your mother is dead, ok?"

"But you're all I have left….,"

He shook his head and fought the tears that wanted to fall. He cleared his throat. "No, you're wrong. You lost me a long time ago. I mean it, Blair, stay away!" he said sternly as he stood up and turned his back on her. He knocked on the door of the chamber and followed the guard out into the corridor, walking away from his daughter forever.

**XOXO**

Blair tried to pull herself together enough to explain to Bart Bass what had happened at the courthouse earlier that day.

Bart frowned and shook his head. "You have a place in my home for as long as you need it," he reassured her.

"Thank-you," she said through her tears as she lowered her eyes humbly to her lap. She knew, without Bart's generosity, she'd have been homeless.

The man nodded his head, unsure of what else he could possibly say to the girl. He knew there was some money in a trust account for her. Eleanor had secured that before the bank had drained the family account. When she was eighteen and ready for college, she'd have enough to make due until she was employable. But besides that, the girl had nothing and nobody else to help her.

And as much as he hated to have the added responsibility, on one level he found he didn't mind so much any longer. Strangely enough, Bart was actually impressed with Blair Waldorf. The girl was brilliant and had, for the most part, conducted herself fairly well over the years she'd lived in his home. Sure there had been some trouble with her and Jack, but he blamed that fact more on his son and brother, more than on her. And he realized that without her support and encouragement, Chuck likely wouldn't have done as well in school as he had… or did, up until recently. Blair's influence had helped the rambunctious boy settle down a lot. And hell, she'd even taught him to talk properly so he didn't sound like his backwoods nanny had! She had turned into an asset, so he really couldn't see the harm in her staying as long as she needed.

In fact, if he'd been of a different mindset, Bart would have likely adopted the girl and eventually groomed her for an executive position with his company. God only knew that his brother was unlikely to fill a decent role at Bass Industries the way he was going, and from what Chuck was showing him these days, his own son would be another unlikely candidate. So even if she weren't family, Blair Waldorf would likely be an asset to Bass Industries and he knew he'd be a fool not to encourage that. "And when you're finished college," he continued, "You'll have a job with my company should you want it."

Blair looked up at her guardian and she managed a smile, knowing that he was sincere and was being extremely generous. "Thank-you for everything, Mr. Bass. I don't know what I'd do without your support."

Bart nodded, now growing uncomfortable with the conversation. "Well try not to dwell on it, child. In the long run, you'll be ok."

She looked at him again and nodded before leaving the room.

Later that evening when she snuggled closer to Nate on her bed, Blair ran her hand over his lower belly and began to nibble on his neck, wanting to feel closer to her boyfriend.

Nate stopped her hand and he frowned. "What are you doing?" he asked and he sat up, moving away from her to the edge of her bed.

"I…., I just want to be closer to you," she defended as she felt her face flush deeply in embarrassment. "Don't you want to be with me?"

Nate looked at her and the color fell from his face. He liked Blair. She fit in with his lifestyle and was easy to be with. But not like that. His feelings for her didn't go below the waist. He shook his head. "It's not like that with us," he explained to her. He got off the bed and tucked in his shirt. "Besides, you want to wait until you're married, remember?"

Blair looked at her lap and she slowly nodded. She had been saying that for years, not wanting to come across as the slut that so many of her peers had become in their junior high school. Yet she wondered why her boyfriend seemed more reluctant than anyone else she knew to engage in anything remotely physical with her. Besides a light kiss on the mouth, Nate Archibald wouldn't even touch her. Yet the way he longingly stared after her blond friend never went unnoticed. It hurt.

"Listen, I should get going, ok?" Nate said as he headed for the door.

"Ok," she said and she followed him out and down to the foyer to wait for the elevator.

**XOXO**

Later that evening he found her in her room, waves of pain washing over her as she felt her world slipping away from her. "Blair, what's wrong?" Chuck asked as he sat down next to her on her bed.

She turned around to face him and he held her close to him when he saw just how broken she was. "Where have you been?" she asked him in a voice barely louder than a whisper. "I've missed you."

"I'm sorry, I've been out with friends," he confessed with guilt. "Tell me what's going on," he encouraged as he draped an arm around her and began to rub her back.

"I feel like I'm losing everything," she confessed into his chest as the tears broke fresh again. "You. Serena. My father. Nate…."

'I'm so sorry. I heard about what happened in the courthouse today," he said empathetically. "I wish I'd have been there to support you. But I wasn't in very good shape to be out in public. But what's happened with Nate?"

Blair shrugged and buried her head deeper against his chest. "He doesn't love me," she whispered dejectedly.

"He told you that?" Chuck asked in alarm.

"Practically. I mean, he didn't say the words, but his actions did."

"What'd he do?" Chuck asked as he sat up. If Nate had hurt her, Chuck would kill him!

Blair shook her head and slipped off her bed. It was just too humiliating to say anything about. She walked into the bathroom and blew her nose, then picked up a facecloth and ran it under the water to wash her tearstained face. "God I look horrid!"

Chuck had followed her in and watched as she washed the makeup off of her face. "I think you're the most beautiful girl on the planet," he told her truthfully.

Blair looked up at him and she attempted a smile, but more tears started to fall instead. "Well Nate sure doesn't," she replied as she dabbed at her eyes with the warm cloth again.

Chuck approached her and he gently lifted her head by her chin so that she'd look at him. "What happened, Blair?"

She sighed and stepped away from him. "We were in here, on my bed and…, and he wouldn't let me even touch him," she replied shamefully. "He says he doesn't see me like that. But I know it's because he wants to be with Serena instead. He…, he doesn't want me."

"Nate's a fool," Chuck growled trying to remain under control. The thought of them spread out on her bed upset him horribly, even if the blond boy had refused her advances. He stepped towards her and put his hands on her shoulders. "I could never deny you," he confessed.

Blair looked up at him and she closed her eyes, afraid she'd get lost in his amber pools. He was so close to her that she felt dizzy. "Chuck…."

Without thinking, Chuck leaned in and brought his lips to hers, kissing her softly at first and then, when he felt her respond to him, his hunger for her took over. Before he knew what he was doing, he had her up against the wall, his mouth greedily devouring hers.

Blair was momentarily lost in the closeness of their embrace as she let her body experience feelings that were completely foreign to her. Her hands wrapped around his neck and she lost her fingers in his thick wavy hair.

Chuck's hands clutched at her waist and he pulled his body flush with hers, aching to be closer, to bury himself deep inside her. His hands dropped to her hips and then around to her bum, pulling her into him.

Blair gasped at his wanton arousal and then moaned in pleasure as she felt her body melt against his in newly found passion. Her hands slid down to his waist and she slipped her hands inside his shirt, her fingers stroking the soft hairs of his chest and belly. Her body clenched in need for him. Yet on another level her brain knew what they were doing was wrong. They were friends and there was also Nate to consider….

Chuck felt his belly flip and a thousand butterflies erupted from within him. His heart fluttered and he felt his head becoming thick with overpowering emotion. Love. He knew at that moment that he was in love with Blair Waldorf and that there would never be anyone else for him in that way. The realization made him momentarily freeze.

It was just the break Blair needed for her head to clear enough for her to snap out of it. She gently pushed him away from her. "Chuck, we can't. I…, I can't do this to Nate."

He stepped back and looked at her, her words burning a hole into his newly discovered heart. "This has nothing to do with Nate," he snapped.

"He's my boyfriend, Chuck. I…., I just can't do this to him. It would be wrong!"

Chuck felt the butterflies begin to die inside of him. Slowly he straightened himself up and tucked in his shirt. He stared at her hard in disbelief. "Even though he won't touch you and lusts after your friend?" he bit in defense.

Blair brought her hand up to her mouth and she covered it, but not quick enough to stop the sob from escaping from deep within. "That hurt," she cried in pain.

He looked at her again and shook his head. If she didn't want him then fuck her, he thought angrily. Besides, he had a party to get to. Without saying another word he turned and left her just as she crumpled into a heap to the floor.

**XOXO**

**AN:** I know harsh, right? Sorry, but I warned you this was going to be angsty. Please let me know what your thoughts were o this chapter. Besides, reviews encourage me to write more and more, so keep them coming!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Abandoned. Blair Waldorf felt like her entire world had left her behind. Chuck refused to even look at her after the night he'd walked out of her door. Serena was caught up with Georgina's antics and Nate no longer cared for her. Besides the minions at school that seemed to worship the very ground she walked on, Blair Waldorf had nobody left in her life of any importance.

Well, that wasn't entirely true…. Jack seemed to be at the house more than ever these days and always seemed to be next to her to the point of discomfort. He was always bumping into her, or brushing against her, and always seemed to be there!

Bart had been away on business for some time and when the staff disappeared for the evenings, Blair was lonely. In fact, she craved company so badly that even Jack was almost tolerable. It didn't faze her that Jack seemed to show up for meals more often than he had before, claiming he was bored with the room service menu and fast food restaurants. He now seemed pleasant enough and actually seemed to make an effort to engage her in conversation about her day, and seemed uncharacteristically interested in her in general. But it seemed weirdly unnatural, and soon had her questioning his intentions. And yet she couldn't really bring herself to tell him to leave her alone, he was the only person who seemed to want to be close to her these days. But at the same time, it was more than a little unsettling.

The first time Jack asked her to accompany him to the bar was on a Friday night under the pretense of him being bored to death. She could relate. It was the weekend and it seemed that she'd been sitting alone almost every night for weeks. And there was only so much schoolwork one could do before the brain became overly saturated in curricular knowledge, so she agreed to accompany him. After changing into a cute but fairly conservative dress, Blair headed down to the bar for drinks with Jack. But what she saw once she entered the music filled room almost made her ill.

Serena and Georgina, along with several other older girls from Constance and one of their rival schools, were fully engaged in a party of sorts. At first it hurt Blair that she hadn't been invited to join them, but then it angered her. Since Serena's demise under Georgina's guidance, Blair was supposedly the new queen of Constance! And yet here was Georgina, glaring at her while they partied it up in the Bass' hotel, a place that Blair considered to be home!

Jack ordered them drinks and Blair gulped her first margarita down so fast that it practically gave her brain freeze. He motioned for the waitress to bring her another one and then laughed while he watched her fume, knowing exactly what dynamics were occurring between the girls in the room.

"What are we doing here, Jack," Blair asked a while later when her third drink arrived. "And why did you bring me down here? Did you know these people were all down here?"

"These are supposed to be your friends, aren't they?" Jack asked rhetorically as he picked up his scotch and sipped it. "Don't you think you need to show them you can go where you want to, even if you aren't invited?"

Blair stared at him, not sure what he was getting at. The people in Georgina's crowd were not really her friends and Serena was becoming just as lost to her. Yet Jack was right. She hadn't been invited and they were on her turf. But why bring her down here unless he wanted her to feel hurt?

"Who are they to not include you in their fun?" Jack continued as he slid closer to her on the bench seat of their booth. He casually draped an arm around her shoulders just as Chuck used to, and gave her a gentle squeeze.

Blair's mind was becoming cloudy and she forced herself not to brush Jack's arm away from her and flee. She reminded herself that he was being friendly and she should be happy that at least someone seemed to want to spend time with her.

But a few minutes later Serena came up to the booth and slipped in next to her on the opposite side from Jack. "Oh my God, Blair! I didn't see you here. It's good to see you tonight," the blond bubbled.

It was obvious from the dilated pupils and animated movements of the girl, that Serena was completely stoned on God only knew what. Blair grinned smugly at her. "Well from the condition you and your friends are in, that doesn't surprise me in the least."

"Where's Chuckles?" she asked, Blair's comment going unheard and noticing that it was his uncle sitting next to Blair and not the usual dark haired boy she was used to being with.

Blair shrugged as if she couldn't care less about her best friend's whereabouts. "He's probably out burning off more of his brain cells with the likes of Carter," she replied dully.

Serena laughed and took another sip of her drink, thinking Blair's comment was pretty funny. And then the blond grinned as something caught her eye from across the room. "Oh, look, he's just coming in now!" she exclaimed. "And he has Carter and Nate with him too!" She slipped out of her seat excitedly and emitted a loud squeal of joy as she ran across the dance floor to welcome the trio to the party.

Blair blanched as she watched the boys come into the club and immediately begin to party it up with Georgina and the other girls. She may as well have been a fly on the wall as far as they were concerned, Blair thought sadly.

But someone must have mentioned her name in some conversation because both Chuck and Nate's heads snapped up at the same time and they stared hard at her and Jack, making Blair want to take cover. Chuck said something to Nate, and she and Jack watched as the two boys began to walk towards them.

Jack pulled her a little closer to him and he squeezed her shoulder in encouragement. "Well this could be interesting," he sneered as both boys approached the booth. "Nephew!" he greeted superficially. "What a pleasant surprise seeing you here."

Chuck glared at Jack for a moment, watching in disbelief as his hand stroked Blair's shoulder. And then his eyes latched onto Blair's, appearing hurt and questioning.

Nate stepped forward. "What are you doing here?" he asked Blair.

Blair's eyes left Chuck's and she glared at her former boyfriend. "I live here, Nate. Or did that small fact leave your head in a puff of smoke?"

"No, …, I mean with him?" Nate motioned to Jack.

"I live here too," Jack replied humorously.

Chuck frowned. "What are you doing with this insect?" he asked her.

Blair's eyes caught his again and for a moment they blazed in defiance. She picked up her drink and took a sip. "What concern is it of yours?"

"It's Jack, Blair! Why would you be down here, drinking with him?"

"If not Jack, then who, Chuck?" she challenged. "You?" she scoffed bitterly. "Or would you rather I just remain alone in my room night after night?" She was trying hard not to let her emotions get too far out of control, but knew she was close to losing it. She slipped out of her seat, ignoring them and began to make her way to the bathroom, hoping the tears wouldn't come. She didn't notice Chuck following her until he grabbed her by the shoulders in the hall in front of the Ladies Room, and turned her around to face him.

"What do you think you're doing?" she gasped as she felt his warm hands on her shoulders.

"This isn't you!" he said with concern as he looked into her eyes.

"How would you even know anymore?" she cried as the tears spilled through her anger. "You don't talk to me, you don't spend time with me, and you don't want anything to do with me anymore, remember?"

"Blair, I…., I…."

She shook her head and spun around, quickly entering the washroom and locking the door behind her.

He tried to open it, and pounded his fist on the door when he found it locked. He shuddered hearing her sob and then banged his head on the door when he heard her throwing up, knowing it was because of him. He pleaded with her to open the door and let him in, but after a few minutes he realized she wouldn't do it.

He finally gave up and stormed back out to the main area, almost running over to the booth where Jack sat with an amused look on his face. "I want you to stay away from her!" he yelled.

Jack stood up and he shoved Chuck back away from him. "I really don't give a shit what you want," he bit back with a growl. "And I'll do whatever I want, with whomever I please."

Jack slipped from the booth as he saw Blair enter the room from the hallway moments later. "Looks like it's time to take her home," he commented merrily as he left the booth. He walked over to Blair and spoke a few words quietly next to her ear.

Blair replied something back to Jack and she nodded, looking momentarily at Chuck before turning her back on him to leave the room.

Chuck watched in disbelief as Jack put his hand on the small of Blair's back, escorting her gently into the lobby away from him. Without realizing what he was doing he picked up Jack's glass of scotch from the booth's table, swore loudly, and hurled it against the mirrored paneling of the wall, smashing both the glass and mirror into a million shards.

They heard it just as they stepped into the waiting elevator. Blair shuddered at the sound and she held her hands over her eyes as the tears poured once again. She didn't seem to mind when the arms wrapped her in embrace and held her against the strong chest.

"Are you sure you're going to be all right?" Jack asked as he walked her to her room. "I'll stay with you tonight if you want."

She shook her head. "I just want to be alone, Jack. But thank-you for being there for me tonight," she managed as she slipped into her room and closed the door. All she wanted was to be left alone and soak in a hot bath. But she hesitated a moment before heading into the bathroom and then turned the lock on her door after listening to a warning from deep inside of her.

A few minutes later, back in his suite, Jack settled into his favorite chair, unhitched his belt, and unzipped himself. At first he'd cursed after hearing her door lock, knowing his plan had failed. But he knew the night wasn't a complete loss. He'd pissed off Chuck and had gotten closer to Blair. Now he lifted the glass of amber liquid he'd poured once he'd returned to his suite, and brought it to his mouth, grinning when she stepped into the room and began to fill the bathtub. He set his drink back on the table and slipped his hand into his pants as he watched from the screen at her slowly strip away her clothing and then get into the hot water. Soon enough, he thought with a groan. Soon enough!

**XOXO**

Over the next few weeks Blair focused harder than ever on her studies and reigned the minions at her school with an iron fist. If there was an event or an activity needing student representation she joined and often ended up as the one in charge of the affair. But outside of school the loneliness was beginning to take its toll on her and Blair found herself unable to refrain from purging many of her meals.

Dorota was worried. She saw the expensive clothing hanging loosely on the girl and smelled the slight scent of acid in the bathroom from her vomit, even though Blair was careful to clean any mess. "I am worried about you," she told her one morning as she lay out Blair's uniform for her. "You are losing so much weight that these hang on you like rags," she couldn't help but blurt.

Blair felt her eyes fill and she looked down at her lap. "I'm just not very hungry lately," she defended. She got up from the bed and pulled a clean camisole, bra and panties out from her dresser.

"You need to see doctor," the maid continued as she watched Blair's thin frame duck into the bathroom to change for school.

"I'll be fine," Blair said before she closed the door. "In fact, if you have the cook make me some pancakes, I'll take one to school and have it with my breakfast this morning," she replied. She closed the door quickly before the woman could talk to her any more.

Dorota shook her head and grumbled all the way down the stairs and into the kitchen where she told the cook to make up a few pancakes for breakfast, even though she knew they'd go uneaten. But she also knew that Bart was coming back from his business trip in a few days and Dorota intended on telling the man about her concerns regarding Blair.

Blair's weight loss wasn't only obvious to Dorota. Jack watched with mixed emotions from his spy-cam as she threw up the little sustenance in her body after supper the next evening. It's getting to be a pattern for her, he thought as he watched her wipe her teary face and then brush her teeth and clean her mess. She's wasting away to a mere nothing.

And then he shook his head and smirked at his thought pattern. Why should he care what Blair did to herself? The kid had been a thorn in his side just as his nephew had been since she'd come to live with the Bass family. Besides wanting to get into her pants and take her v-card, Jack really couldn't care any less for Blair Waldorf, or so he tried to convince himself.

But the idea that maybe he liked her more than he should bothered him. Jack watched her leave the bathroom and go and lie down on her bed, knowing she would likely cry until she fell asleep, as was her routine. But he couldn't really feel sorry for her. He liked the thought that Chuck's absence upset the girl. And he vowed to make sure to keep reinforcing it to Blair, every opportunity he had. As he thought about it he realized he really didn't care about Blair Waldorf at all, even though he wanted her on some level. He decided the only reason he really wanted her was so Chuck couldn't have her. And the thought of ruining them both made him smile.

**XOXO**

She hadn't seen him in days but one evening a few evenings later, Blair found Chuck sitting at the bottom of the stairs in their suite, so inebriated that he couldn't possibly get up them to his room. "Chuck!" she exclaimed as she caught his shirt before he did a full face plant on the floor. "Where have you been? And why are you so intoxicated?"

He looked up at her through bloodshot eyes and his face softened for a moment. He brushed her hands off of him and attempted to stand again, only to stumble back and sit hard on the bottom step. He sighed and put his face in his hands. "I don't think I can get up!" he groaned.

She nodded and crouched down beside him. "You're pretty drunk."

"So you already mentioned," he managed. He laid his head against the railing. "I think I could use some help."

"Of course," she nodded as she put her hands under his arms and helped him to stand.

When he seemed steady, he grasped the railing and Blair helped guide him up from behind. Once he staggered and pitched forward, but she held him fast and he regained his footing. Finally they made it up the stairs together. Blair continued her support as she led him down the hall and into his bedroom. She guided him over to his bed and had him sit down.

He began to unbutton his blazer, but fumbled over the buttons. "Can you help me?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied and she sat next to him and unbuttoned and slipped off the coat. She sat next to him silently with her hands resting on her lap, not knowing what to say to him.

Chuck loosened his tie and slipped it off. He put his hand lightly on hers and closed his eyes.

"Chuck," she sighed at the touch of him.

He looked over at her and closed his eyes again. There had been so much distance between them lately and he had been hurting without her. He stroked his thumb over the silky smooth skin on her hand.

"I've missed you," she finally whispered, not wanting to spoil the moment but needing to let him know.

He nodded. He'd missed her too.

"What's happened to us?" she asked.

So many things were swirling around in the fog of Chuck's brain and he wanted to say so much to her, but couldn't seem to get the words out of his mouth. So instead he just shrugged and let his head lean towards her until it was finally resting on her shoulder.

Blair turned in to him and circled her arms around his neck, resting her head next to his, trying to ignore the heavy smell of liquor on him.

He tried to wrap his arms around her, but mistakenly knocked them both over so they were lying face to face together on the bed. Startled at first, he then smirked at the awkwardness of the situation."Ooops," he muttered.

Blair couldn't help but grin. But when she tried to sit back up he put his hand out to stop her. "I want to lay with you a while," he admitted. "I don't want you to go."

She considered the request and then nodded, not wanting to be apart from him even if he was completely inebriated. She lay back down and lifted her hand out to his face to wipe a wayward curl away from his eyes. She smiled when he closed his eyes at her touch.

Chuck draped a hand around her waist and pulled her closer to him until they were nearly flush together. "That's better," he mumbled as he leaned in to rest his forehead against hers.

Blair closed her eyes and fought off the impending tears. She was so weary from lack of food and from loneliness and felt so safe being so close to him that she dared not cry least she scare him off. For now, this was enough. She brought her hand up between them and laid it over his beating heart. Moments later she fell fast asleep.

Chuck opened his eyes when he realized she was asleep and he pulled his head back a little so that he could look at her. He cared about Blair so much that the mere thought of it took his breath away. He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the mouth and smiled when she mumbled his name in her sleep. Clumsily, he reached behind him and pulled his comforter over them both, snuggling closer to her and wrapping her in his arms. I could stay like this forever, he thought hazily as he closed his eyes once more.

**XOXO**

She awoke with him curled around behind her, his face buried under her curls and one hand tucked inside her blouse and camisole, resting just under her breast. He felt so warm and close to her that she didn't care where it was that he was touching her and she eased herself back even closer to him. She was just dozing off again when she felt his lips brush softly against the skin on her neck and the hand gently stroke her breast.

Chuck wasn't used to a warm body being next to him in his bed. The girls he had sex with were generally sent packing immediately after the sex was finished. Those that were permitted to stay for a while did so away from him, usually returning to whatever party it was they were at. So Blair's closeness pleasantly startled him in his still semi-drunken, semi-asleep state. He had breathed in her scent and couldn't resist kissing the delicious neck he was so close to. The skin on her belly felt like satin to him, as was the bra covering the firm swell of her breast. He had to feel more of it. He quietly groaned her name at the sensation and pulled her even closer into him as he gently caressed her.

Blair hitched her breath and she opened her eyes wide, unsure of what to do. She felt him hard against her backside and his hand now stroked the area of her bra over a hardened nipple. He kissed her neck again, keeping his lips open on her skin as he moaned her name against her heated flesh. It totally made shivers run all over her body and turned her insides to butter!

Chuck stroked her some more and then his hand left her breast, trailing down across her belly and then slipping up and under her skirt. His other hand held her hip firmer, and as he held her he arched his pelvis and rubbed his heat against her again. Despite his foggy mind, he knew how badly he wanted her. And yet he realized he needed to tread cautiously, Blair wasn't someone to just take at a whim.

Before Blair knew what was happening, Chuck's one hand had slid from her breast down under her skirt and onto the delicate skin of her inner thighs. She whimpered despite herself when he grazed his fingers over the crotch of her panties. She knew that she should stop this, but Chuck felt so good and he was so close to her that she was even more afraid to move away from him than she was to stay.

He heard her whimper and her breath quicken and so he kissed the back of her neck again, one hand rubbing her hip while the fingers of his other hand continued stroking against the satin material between her legs. He felt her shudder and he whispered, "Shhhhh, we're ok. And you feel so good."

"Chuck!" she groaned as her body clenched in desire and need for him.

Chuck slowly slipped his fingers under the band of her panties and he growled in pleasure when he felt how wet she was for him. If it had been any other girl, he'd have buried himself in her up to the hilt at that moment.

Blair whimpered some more, her breath now coming faster as she spread her legs a little wider and let Chuck do to her what she had scarcely even dared do to herself before.

He groaned and pumped against her in his heat as he brought Blair closer and closer to a place where she'd never been before. He nipped at her shoulder and then kissed along her neck until his mouth was just under his ear. "Come, baby," he growled wantonly into her ear. "Come for me."

Blair cried aloud when the orgasm hit, causing Chuck to groan loudly with his own release against her bum. And he held her like he was afraid to let her go when he heard her begin to sob.

"Blair…..," he whispered, unsure of what to say to her.

Blair turned around in his arms and she stared at him. He raised a hand and stroked her face. Even crying, she was so beautiful. "Don't cry," he said as he slowly leaned in and kissed her. "Please don't cry."

But she couldn't help it. She pulled away from him as the tears insisted on falling. "I…., I can't help it," she managed.

"It's ok," he said as he pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. "It'll be ok."

"Promise?" she asked as she tucked her head under his chin and curled up against his chest, closing her eyes.

He nodded and kissed her again. "I promise."

But when she woke up later that morning, Chuck was gone.

**XOXO**

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone considerate enough to leave a comment after the last chapter. I appreciate knowing the story is being enjoyed. Anyone worried about what Jack is up to? How do you think he's going to feel after their slumber party last night?


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

She was at breakfast, trying to force herself to eat some grapes when Bart came quietly into the dining room, frowning as he looked at a sheet of paper. He took his seat at the head of the table, startling her.

"Oh, you're home," Blair acknowledged with a little jump. "How was your trip?"

"Where is my son this morning and where has been hiding these days," Bart asked in annoyance, seeming to ignore her question. "And why is he not attending school?"

"I'm…, I'm not sure where he goes, Mr. Bass," Blair replied disheartedly.

"But he's not here. Do you know why he hasn't been attending school?"

She lowered and then shook her head, preferring not to share her theories and suspicions with the man about what Chuck was most likely up to.

Bart shook his head and slapped the paper on the table. "I'm almost afraid to answer my messages after I get back from a trip," he relayed. "If it's not one thing, it's another. I swear both Charles and Jack are trying to drive me insane!" He looked at her with her head down, recognizing the distress written all over her face. He frowned. "What's going on, Blair?" he asked. "You seem upset."

She shrugged her shoulders and raised her eyes to meet his. She knew he expected an answer but she didn't know how to answer him. She couldn't possibly tell him about Chuck's spiraling behavior or how his leaving her alone after what had happened between them last night, made her feel lost and confused. "I just miss him, is all," she finally commented. "I'm lonely when he's not around."

Bart frowned again and nodded. The two had been inseparable since he'd taken Blair in years ago. He had no doubt that she'd be missing him. In fact on another level Bart had always hoped that the two of them would remain close. Even though they were more like siblings than a couple, he believed they made an excellent pair: Blair seemed to almost tame and bring out the best in his son, and in turn, Charles seemed to draw out the more assertive side of Blair. If they should marry some day, then maybe Charles would become the man Bart thought the he could become. Finally he just sighed. "Well, I'll deal with Charles when I see him. But what's been going on with you?"

She looked at him quizzically, not knowing what he wanted.

"Dorota says you're not eating properly and are losing weight. She also thinks you are purging your meals," he clarified as he took in her appearance, noting she really did look even smaller than she usually did.

Blair lowered her eyes into her lap again, knowing that he saw the truth. She didn't dare lie to him. "I don't think it's that bad," she finally said.

He frowned. "I think it is."

She shrugged. "Sometimes I'm just not hungry. And if I try to force myself to eat, it makes me throw up."

He scowled at her and shook his head. "Bulimia can be serious, Blair. I'm going to insist you see a doctor."

"But I'm not bulimic!" she asserted.

Bart picked up his coffee and took a long, slow drink as he examined her again. She was thinner than she should be and, although still strikingly beautiful, she did look somewhat gaunt. "We'll let a doctor decide that."

She picked up another grape and forced herself to nibble at it, knowing she was powerless to argue with him. If he insisted she see a doctor, she would have to see a doctor. She put a little honey in her tea and began to stir it when she heard the elevator open in the foyer. She hoped it was Chuck, but grew disappointed when she saw Jack enter the dining room instead.

Jack looked tired and was obviously agitated about God only knew what. He poured himself a cup of coffee and looked at his brother. "You summoned me?"

Bart nodded. "I need you to come into the office with me this afternoon and go over the proposal for the Darwin Project."

Jack tilted his head as if confused. "Is that all?"

Bart scowled. "Well there are some other things I'd like to address, but I don't believe this is the appropriate time or place to do so."

Jack sighed, looked over at Blair and he frowned. He turned back to his brother. "Of course there's more. There always is."

"You do know what this is regarding?" Bart asked.

"I've heard it so often it's a constant recording in my head. How could I not know!" he sneered.

"And yet it seems I will again have to repeat myself," Bart snapped as he threw his napkin down and rose from the table. "I have a meeting to prepare for. I suggest you do the same." He looked at his watch before leaving the dining room. "I need you there at four. Try not to be late."

Jack picked a muffin off of a plate in front of him and crushed it in his fist, letting the crumbs fall to the floor. Without looking at Blair he asked in a sarcastic tone, "So where is Chuck this morning?"

Blair looked at Jack and shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea." She wondered why the tone and it irritated her.

For a moment it looked like he was going to explode, but then he softened his face. "You really don't, do you?"

Blair tried to read him, but with Jack it was impossible to know what he was thinking. "No, I already told you I don't know where he is," she said in annoyance.

Jack scoffed. He took a swig of his coffee and then picked up another muffin and tore a chunk out of it, popping it into his mouth. He chewed for a few minutes and then swallowed. "You're a smart girl," he said. "I need a favor."

Blair was puzzled. "What?"

"Bart is going to be all over me about this Darwin proposal this afternoon. It's ready, but I want you to help me get it in order so he doesn't bite my head off in that meeting."

"Oh," she replied, totally unprepared for that. "I'm not sure what I can do to help you, but I suppose I could try."

Jack grinned and he stood up. He walked behind Blair's chair and gently took her by the shoulders, giving them an affectionate squeeze. "Good girl," he said. "Come on down in about an hour, ok?"

"Ok," she confirmed with a slight nod. She picked up her cup and drained the remaining tea as Jack made his way back to the elevator to head down to his suite.

**XOXO**

Chuck slammed the remaining scotch back and put his pounding head back against the sofa in the room he had rented at a neighboring hotel. He was having a horrible time shaking the hangover that had occurred from his previous night's antics. And it didn't help that his foggy brain was doggedly piecing images of him in bed with Blair.

He'd awoken early- needing to pee, and found himself curled around some girl in his bed. Strange, he'd thought. Usually he kicked them out after sex. And he certainly never spooned with them! He'd pulled himself out of bed and made his way into his bathroom, confused that he was still somewhat clothed after being in bed with someone. He was appalled to find his boxers were a sticky mess. He hadn't done that in ages, he thought in disgust, and he wondered why it had even happened at all when there was obviously a girl in his bed!

He'd stripped down after using the toilet and hopped in the shower, trying to remember anything he could from the previous evening. He remembered the party and the crazy guy with the big bag of cocaine, but then everything past that was just a blur. Obviously he'd made it back to the Palace Hotel and then up to the suite, but he was unsure how he ended up in his bed or why he'd have brought a girl home with him in the first place. That wasn't his usual style.

He'd quickly dried and brushed his teeth and hair, thinking he should just wake the slut and send her along on her way. He walked into his adjoining closet and put on fresh boxers, wanting to go back to bed and sleep off the hangover that was making his ears pound and his eyes ache. He walked over to his bed and leaned down to shake her awake. The light from his bathroom cast a soft glow across the room, showing off the highlights in the dark wavy hair that was splayed across his pillow.

It had been then that the girl had sighed in her sleep and mumbled his name in a voice so comfortably familiar that it had made Chuck's heart skip a beat and sent shivers rippling down his spine. But it couldn't be! And then she had turned over and her face confirmed what his heart had already known…. Blair Waldorf was sleeping in his bed!

Once he had gotten over the initial shock of realizing who it was, Chuck had panicked. Just what the hell had he done, he thought in despair! He'd quickly turned back to his bathroom and closet, dressed, grabbed his jacket, wallet and cell phone, and fled the suite before she could awake. He had made his way to the second rate hotel a few blocks over and hastily rented a room as he'd done countless times before.

Now he raised his hand over his eyes and winced, more from the pain of what he may have done than from the hangover itself. Some stuff had happened between them, he was sure. But exactly what they had done eluded his mind. All he knew is that they must had made out and he had awoken with sticky shorts that morning. And whether that had been from dreaming about what had actually happened or from him wanting something to happen between them, he wasn't sure.

Was it so wrong that they'd made out, he wondered as his head pounded away. They'd been somewhat distant recently but he cared about Blair and knew she cared about him too. And then his mind altered and he blanched. Did they do more than just make out, he feared? Had he fucked her?

His stomach turned and he got up and ran to the bathroom, throwing up what little sustenance he had in his stomach. Although the thought of him taking her virginity wasn't a new one for him, him not recalling the event and not knowing if he'd maybe hurt her, killed him.

He slumped beside the toilet once the heaving had stopped and put his head down on the cool porcelain lid, wondering if his leaving her that morning maybe even had made things worse. "Sometimes I am such an idiot," he groaned.

**XOXO**

Blair softly knocked on the door of the suite and hesitantly stepped in once Jack opened the door in greeting.

She'd been there a few times before, but always accompanied by Chuck or Bart, and once even with Dorota. But this was the first time she'd gone there on her own and for some reason she felt almost a sense of panic upon entering. She placed her bag on a little table near the entrance and permitted Jack to escort her into a small bedroom he'd set up as an office.

Jack placed a file on the desk and motioned for Blair to sit down. He left the room for a moment and Blair opened the file up, beginning to scan over the documents inside. A moment later Jack showed up and handed her a glass of wine.

"Thank-you," she said as she reached for it. She set it down on the desk in front of her and continued looking at the documents. She wasn't sure why she was as surprised as she was as she scanned through the papers. She knew Jack was smart, but she had always suspected he was somewhat of a slacker at Bass Industries, just because of the arguments he and Bart always seemed to get into. But the orderly papers in front of her proved otherwise.

Jack pulled a chair up next to her and sat down, watching her face as she read through various documents.

"I'm impressed," she stated honestly. "This must have taken forever to prepare." She looked at him and grinned when she saw him positively beaming. She didn't think she'd ever seen such a look of pride or honor on his face ever before.

"Yeah…, thanks," he replied somewhat self consciously. "It's the first really big project I've be _permitted_ to work on. But I need to practice my presentation that I have to give the board tomorrow, if you're up to it."

Blair giggled thinking it rather funny that he was almost acting like a schoolboy. She picked up her wine glass and took a couple of sips then leaned back in her chair and attempted to mimic the expression of a senior board executive, making Jack laugh.

He cleared his throat and began his speal, stopping now and again to rummage through his papers and explain how, at certain points, he'd be showing power point slides. When he noticed Blair's wine glass approaching empty, he'd excuse himself and retrieve the bottle, topping it up for her. By the time he had finished, she'd drunk the entire bottle.

"Well, what'd you think?" he asked once he was finished.

"It was outstanding," she admitted. "I mean, you should probably rearrange some of those papers a little better, maybe not clear your throat as often, and not worry about the board's refreshments as much as you did mine, but overall I think it was excellent. And I think Bart will find it very professional as well."

He grinned, feeling somewhat relieved over her praise. He had sincerely worked his ass off on this project and was worried Bart would tear him to shreds if it weren't up to Bass standards. He knew Blair was fairly ignorant in business, but he also knew she was a perfectionist and a top honor student at her school. And although she lacked the more business types of skills, he knew her savvy on presentation in general would judge him decently. "Thank-you. You have no idea how much that means to me," he replied honestly.

Blair nodded and rose from the desk and left the office, intending to return home now that her take was over. She was feeling woozy from all the wine she'd drunk and thought she needed a nap. But before she reached the door, Jack put his hand out and held her elbow, stopping her from reaching for her bag.

"You're leaving so soon? I thought you might want to spend a little time with me before I have to go and meet my brother," he said with a bit of a pout.

Blair sighed and nodded, not wanting to seem rude to him. She allowed Jack to steer her into the living area and set her down on the sofa. She put her head back and closed her eyes. "I think I drank too much of your wine…."

He sat next to her and turned to face her, grinning. "Sorry. I guess I was just trying to be accommodating."

She grinned back. "Oh, you were," she admitted. "You were really pretty generous all right," she giggled, leaning her head onto his shoulder.

Jack startled at the response and he edged in a little closer to her.

She looked up at him, sighed and giggled again. "I'd like to see the look on Bart's face after you blow them all away in that meeting tomorrow."

"Thanks," Jack responded, giving her knee a little squeeze. "You have no idea what that means to me."

She nodded, not realizing that his hand remained on her knee. She closed her eyes feeling warm and content with the wine in her belly fuzzing up her senses.

Jack stroked her thigh, his hand gliding lightly over the smooth silk of Blair's stocking as Blair drunkenly rested against his shoulder. When she didn't slap it away, he moved his hand higher up her leg and under her skirt until she finally frowned and opened her eyes.

She looked at him, seemingly unsure of what it was that he was doing. "Jack…?" she questioned.

He turned to face her and lifted his hand off her leg, bringing it up to brush a wayward curl off of her face. "Shhh," he hushed softly and leaned in to kiss her mouth.

When she realized what he was doing to her, she bolted upright and then leapt off the couch. "You kissed me!" she exclaimed in shock.

He grinned and stood to face her, reaching out to put a hand on her waist. "I wanted to thank you for helping me….."

She stared at where he was touching her, wiped her mouth and grimaced. "I…, I have to go!" she snapped as she turned towards the door, grabbed her purse and hurriedly left his suite.

Blair stood momentarily in the hall, unsure of what to do but knowing that she needed to get out of there fast. She made her way to the elevator and headed down to the first floor of the hotel by instinct. She hadn't been there in ages but the security of the haven seemed to beckon her deep from the recesses of her mind. And what she needed more than anything else at that moment was to feel safe. But first, she had to get the key!

Once inside the cubby, Blair flicked on the lamp and then flopped back on the mattress pile she and Chuck made ages before in the corner. She stared at the rafters high above on the ceiling until her eyes ached and she was forced to close them. Her mind as still fuzzy, but her wits had returned to her enough to recall what Jack had done and how he had touched her. She was confused. Jack hated her. And he was so much older than she was. Why would he kiss her and touch her like that? She wasn't even sure if she could tolerate Jack! Besides, she loved Chuck.

But thinking of Chuck made her heart ache and she suddenly began to cry. She was confused and scared enough over what had happened between the two of them last night let alone throw Jack in with the mix.

**XOXO**

He found her fast asleep hours later, after both Jack and Bart had expressed enough concern over her missing to summon Chuck on his cell phone. And despite the fact that he didn't want to face his father, he left the sanctity of his second rate hotel room and made his way back to the Palace, hoping to find her. After retrieving a key from Housekeeping to get into the mechanical room and then the storage area after (he'd found the one they had stashed was missing from its hiding spot), Chuck finally climbed the makeshift ladder and crawled into the cubby.

Her hair was splayed across the pillows of the ivory sheets, mascara streaked under her eyes from where her tears had fallen earlier, and the guilt overwhelmed him knowing he as likely the cause of it all. "Blair," he called softly as he reached out and stroked her cheek.

She woke and startled, not exactly sure where she was or how she'd come to the place of their youth. "What…, what's happening. Why are we here?" she questioned.

Chuck frowned, puzzled at her response. "You were missing. Dad called and left several messages on my phone. I could only think of one place you might come to."

And then it hit her, the reason of why she'd come here in the first place and then the realization that he'd come looking for her. She sat up and threw her arms around him almost desperately. "Why did you leave me this morning?" she asked as the tears started to fall down her face.

Chuck sighed and he hugged her in his arms, unsure of what to say. "I was so drunk… I…, I couldn't remember what had happened after I woke up and saw you in my bed. And then…, and then I thought maybe I'd hurt you or something and I panicked," he began. "I'm sorry. God, please tell me I didn't do anything to make you hate me."

"I could never hate you, Chuck," she replied as she tightened her grip around his neck.

He pulled away for a moment and frowned, still unsure of what all he might have done to her the night before. "But did I hurt you?"

She nodded her head and wiped her tears thinking of the last few times she'd been with him and how his words and actions had torn her to pieces. "Only when you left."

He nodded, sensing she meant more than just that morning. He was feeling confused and guilty himself in that he couldn't remember what had transpired between them earlier and not was not sure how to ask her for details. He lowered his head in shame. "I never wanted to hurt you," he admitted remembering her last comment to him on how his words about Nate had hurt her, "But I know I did anyways."

She nodded and lay back on the bed, her head thudding with a dull pain from the wine and she winced.

He looked at her and frowned again. "You are hurt!"

"I just think I drank a little too much wine…"

He looked around the area but saw no bottles of anything alcohol related. "When were you drinking?" he asked in confusion.

"This afternoon. When I was helping Jack….." But the memory of Jack's hand on her thigh and his mouth on her lips suddenly flooded back over her and Blair blanched, a look of horror spreading over her face.

Chuck missed the look on her face, his alarm at her words all-consuming. "Helping Jack with what?" he asked in concern thinking Jack and alcohol and Blair were not such a good combo.

"He…, he put together a presentation for the board for a meeting tomorrow. He asked for my help," she answered quickly, not wanting Chuck to think anything else may have happened.

"He asked for help from you?" Chuck challenged, not believing his ears.

"Do you find it so hard to believe that I would be able to help him?" she questioned back defensively.

Chuck scoffed. "I question everything that Jack would say… Always. He doesn't ask for help, a point my father has been bitching about since he took Jack into the company."

Blair frowned. "Well maybe he's changed. Maybe he respects my mind and opinion."

"Jack?" Chuck asked again sarcastically.

Blair was annoyed. She sat up and slid to the edge of the mattress pile, shrugging off his hand when Chuck reached out to stop her.

"I didn't mean it like that….," he attempted.

"Look. I get it that you and Jack have this history. I was there for most of it, remember? But we're older now and Jack isn't the same any more."

Chuck hopped up off the pile and he put his hand on her shoulder to turn her around and face him. "Don't you ever believe he has changed, Blair. You can't trust him."

She frowned. "But I'm supposed to trust you?" she asked rhetorically as she slipped down to the floor and crawled over to the ledge

He sighed again and crouched down to call after her before she could disappear over the edge and down the makeshift ladder. "Please believe me when I say this. Jack is dangerous. You can't be alone with him. He's going to hurt you!"

She looked at him before she climbed down and the tears began to build up in her eyes once again. "He wouldn't be the first."

**XOXO**

**A/N:** Sorry for the late post. I have a multitude of life events happening at the moment including a cousin who is nearing the end of a battle with cancer.

Please leave me a review to let me know your thoughts. Chuck's concern for Blair is real…. It's going to get ugly really soon… hope you can handle things.


	8. Chapter 8

Dedicating this chapter to Scarlett2u on her birthday today. Happy Birthday Mary, and thank-you for always sticking by me….

**Chapter 8**

She sat on the cold paper of the examination table, her tiny frame shivering inside the large paper dress they'd had her change into. Dorota sat across the room from her reading an ancient issue of Better Homes and Gardens, seemingly oblivious to the discomfort her young mistress was in.

The doctor, a young but severe woman in her mid-thirties, entered the room and sat at her desk, opening the file to examine Blair's test results taken earlier that week. She underlined a few items and looked over at Blair, then wrote a few more notes on the test results paper.

After closing the file she walked over to Blair to examine her. "Lift your gown please," she requested as she took the stethoscope from around her neck and connected it to her ears. She began to listen to Blair's heart and lungs, and then had her lie down where she examined her belly. When that was finished the doctor dug the tips of her fingers into Blair's belly, feeling around for God only knows what.

"How often are you purging?" the doctor asked openly.

Blair looked at Dorota and then her doctor. She didn't want to say too much in front of her maid.

The doctor frowned and then asked Dorota to leave the room while she continued her examination.

Dorota looked over at Blair and scowled when the girl simply nodded at her to do as she was being asked. Against her better judgment, Dorota left her charge and took the ragged magazine into the waiting room, in a huff.

The doctor looked at Blair again. "Is there a reason you don't want your maid to hear?"

Blair shook her head. "No, it's just because I'm embarrassed," she muttered as the doctor looked at her.

"So? How often are you purging?"

Blair shook her head. "I'm not sure."

"Does it happen every day?"

"Sometimes."

"Does it happen more than once a day?"

"Sometimes."

"What triggers you?"

Blair shrugged. "I don't know…. Different things, I guess."

"What kind of things? Give me an example."

"I…, I can't," Blair replied uncomfortably.

"Think, Blair!" the Doctor said sternly. "What is it that happens to make you feel like you need to put your fingers down your throat and vomit?"

She thought for a moment about the times that she'd been unable to control the urge to vomit… the hurtful words, the loss she'd endured, and the loneliness and rejection, and tears began to pour down her face.

The firm lines around the doctor's face softened as Blair began to openly bawl. "Bulimia is a way for some people to gain control over their lives. We need to isolate those triggers, Blair. You need to identify the things that make you feel like you need to gain control."

Blair nodded. What the doctor said made sense. "Sometimes I see myself apart from others, like I have no place…, like whatever I do is never enough…, like I'm never going to be good enough to belong anywhere…."

The doctor nodded. "You've experienced a lot of loss in your life."

She nodded. She'd lost everything that ever mattered to her during the last ten years.

The doctor sighed and handed her a clipboard with pencil and a piece of paper. "I want you to write down how much you ate each day for the last four or five days on this paper. Put a star beside any meal you purged. And be honest, ok?"

Blair nodded and began to write as the doctor sat back at her desk and jotted more notes in her file. She scowled when she realized Blair had finished before she had completed her notes. "Finished all ready?"

Blair nodded and handed the clipboard back to the doctor who scowled again, sighed and jotted down a few more notes of her own. She added the paper Blair had written into her file.

"Not only are you bulimic, but you are also bordering on being anorexic," she said after closing the file. "Basically, you're starving yourself. If it continues your body will begin to shut down. This can and will eventually kill you if it doesn't stop."

She looked at Blair who was staring straight down at the floor.

"Do you understand what I'm telling you, Blair?"

Blair nodded. "Yes."

"Is that what you want?"

Blair looked up at her as if confused.

"Blair, I am asking you a question. Do you want to die?"

Blair never felt the tears as they began to spill down her face again, the question seeming to eat a hole in her brain. Did she want to die? She had to admit she'd never really thought of that so concretely. But sometimes it did feel like there was really nothing to live for. She'd lost her mother, her home, and the life she had known as a child. But up until recently she'd had a father, Serena, Nate, and Chuck. But now all of them had cut her out of their lives as well. She was completely alone.

"Blair, can you hear me? I'm asking you a question," the doctor asked in alarm. "Do you want to die?"

"Sometimes," Blair finally admitted in a voice scarcely more than a whisper.

**XOXO**

Chuck looked in the mirror and adjusted his bow tie until it was perfect. He smirked knowing the purple polka dots would infuriate his already irritated father. But he already knew that Bart thought of him as an embarrassment to the Bass name, a loser and a failure. He'd gotten the lecture several times since his father had returned and had been informed of his son's absence at school. It was the same lecture that Chuck had heard Jack get throughout the years. And now his allowance had been terminated, his limo privileges were suspended outside of school hours, and he had to attend every function Bart deemed necessary without complaint. So if Chuck's attire was shocking and embarrassed his father a little further, he couldn't care less.

When he heard the door from the room across the hall open he brushed back his hair and checked his shoes, wanting to be perfect. He left his room and caught sight of Blair descending the stairs in front of him and he grinned when he realized that his suit nearly matched the lovely gown that she was wearing. But his grin quickly fell when he saw Blair immediately gravitate towards Jack, who was waiting for them in the foyer.

Blair had avoided Chuck all week and it had stung him. He knew of his uncle's successful presentation to the board and had fumed silently when Bart actually sang praises over the man at dinner earlier that week. The idea that Blair had helped Jack in the first place appalled him, and knowing that Jack had succeeded with her help, angered him even more. In fact, knowing that the two of them had been alone together in Jack's suite simply outraged Chuck. He didn't trust Jack with her in the least.

Jack nodded to Chuck and motioned them both into the elevator to make their way down to the Bass limo for the event.

Chuck scowled when Jack climbed in next to Blair, leaving him to enter the vehicle last. He watched the two of them chat, almost appearing to be friends. And whenever Jack touched her while they spoke, Chuck felt as though daggers were piercing his heart.

He shouldn't be touching her, he fumed as he laid his head back against the rich leather of the car. He closed his eyes, wondering why Jack had suddenly developed an interest in Blair at all, except perhaps to corrupt or toy with her. He could have any woman he wanted, so why waste time on an adolescent girl? The thoughts triggered deeply buried memories in Chuck that made his stomach immediately tie up in knots and he struggled to bury them once more. He was immediately washed over in panic and he felt the sudden urge to vomit. As soon as the limo pulled up to the curb Chuck rushed out and around the corner into an alley, where he began to hurl.

"Chuck, are you all right?" Blair asked in alarm as she came up behind him. She lay her hand on his back "Are you sick?"

"Go inside, Blair," he managed as he held the wall and hung his head in shame. "I'll be ok in a few minutes."

"Too much scotch already?" Jack chuckled in amusement as he came to stand behind his nephew.

"Leave me alone, Jack," Chuck bit as he wiped his mouth with the handkerchief he'd pulled out of his pocket.

Jack laughed again and put his hand on Blair's shoulder to encourage her along. "Come on, Blair, he said he's going to be all right."

"He's sick! I'm not going to leave him alone like this," she insisted.

Jack shrugged. "Suit yourself. But make sure he doesn't splash your dress."

"You don't have to stay," Chuck said as he turned around to face Blair. "I said I'd be fine. I just need a bit of air."

Blair ignored him and opened her bag to retrieve a small bottle of mouthwash, a toothbrush and some toothpaste. She slipped them into Chuck's jacket pocket. "You might want to freshen up before you see your dad," she suggested.

He nodded. "Thanks."

"What's going on, Chuck?" she asked.

He sighed, shook his head and looked straight at her. "I should be asking you the same thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you with Jack?" he blurted out. You can't trust him, Blair. I've been telling you this for years, he's only going to hurt you!"

"First of all, I am NOT with Jack," she bit angrily. "And second, you're really not being fair to him. People change, Chuck," she said with an accusing tone. "And maybe he's changed too!" She went to stomp away from him and head inside, but Chuck reached out and stopped her.

He sighed again. "Look. I'm sorry, but I'm really worried about this. You don't know what he's capable of."

"We need to get inside," she replied, ignoring his comment. She just didn't want to get into it with him any more. "Your father will be expecting us."

The event proceeded with a general get together, some speeches about the expansion of the company to Australia and then finally to dinner. Blair was surprised to find herself placed at a table next to Jack and a few other adults. She noted Chuck sat next to his father and a few older Bass executives at another table, looking most miserable. Bart was glaring at his son's ridiculous bowtie. She shrugged it off and once they'd been served, began the painstaking process of trying to eat her meal.

Jack noted her shuffling her food around on her plate and whispered humorously, "I'll give you a hundred bucks to peg Chuck in the head with a carrot."

She laughed. "Your father would kill me. Besides, I'm supposed to eat them, not throw them at people."

Jack nodded, fully aware of the strict diet orders Blair's doctor had her under. "I know Blair, I was just trying to make a joke."

"Oh," she replied and forced herself to smile. She picked up her fork and continued to play with her food, eating little.

Jack wiped his mouth with his napkin and laid it across his plate, indicating he was finished. He dropped his hands on his lap and began to engage in small talk with the other people at their table.

But just when she'd managed to put a small piece of beef in her mouth, Blair felt a hand slip across and onto her knee. She knew it was Jack's and she stiffened immediately.

He remained in conversation as he began to stroke her leg.

Blair dropped her hand down and tried to discreetly remove the offending thing from her leg. But instead of Jack retreating, he took her hand in his for a moment and stroked her fingers suggestively. She tried to remove her hand from his but he held it fast and then moved it over onto his lap instead.

She was at a loss as to what to do. She knew if she caused a scene, she would embarrass the entire Bass family and potentially ruin the entire event, and she certainly didn't want to do that to Bart. But she wanted Jack to stop what he had started.

When she felt him growing hard under her hand, she panicked. With her free hand she quickly reached across her plate for her wine glass and deliberately bumped it so that it spilled directly into Jack's lap. He released her hand immediately as his crotch became soaking wet and he swore loudly.

Blair excused herself and practically ran to the lady's room where she began to cry. After the kiss in his suite, she had pretended that it just hadn't happened. She'd thought that maybe she had just drank too much that night and she was making a big deal out of nothing. But she wasn't drunk now and she knew his folly was far more than just being friendly. Before she knew she was doing it, she was on the floor in front of the toilet repelling the dinner she had fought so hard to consume.

**XOXO**

He saw her bolt from the table and somehow just knew it had something to do with his uncle. The prick, Chuck swore under his breath as he followed Blair down to the washrooms. He waited outside the door for her until he heard her begin to vomit. Then he slipped inside and waited until she was finished. "Are you ok?" he asked.

She startled upon hearing his voice but was grateful that he cared enough to check on her. She shook her head.

"What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she replied. "Please don't make me talk about it."

He nodded. Then, remembering he still had her toothbrush and stuff in his pocket, he removed the items and laid them on the counter. You might want to freshen up before you come back," he offered.

She managed a smile. "Thanks."

He left the bathroom intending to return to his table, but quickly stepped around the corner and ducked into the coatroom instead when he saw his father coming down the stairs.

When she left the bathroom a few minutes later Blair was surprised to see Bart waiting for her outside the door. The man did not look happy. He took her by the elbow and escorted her into the coatroom.

"I know I am not your father, Blair, but I'm trying to do the best I can with you," he began. "I didn't want to believe how badly Dr. Kennedy said your bulimia was, and frankly I was shocked to hear that you are also anorexic as well. But I believe it now. You've hardly touched your plate tonight and I know you were just throwing up in here."

Blair hung her head in shame and felt the tears begin to well up in her eyes as the man continued to lecture her. But she stopped hearing his words as waves of self-hatred and pain washed over her as she thought about the loser she was obviously becoming. But her head snapped up when she heard the words that came out of his mouth next.

"… if things don't improve I will be forced to legally surrender your care over to the Osteroff Center. They have a few full time staffed homes that can give you the direct supervision you may need to help improve your condition."

"You're going to put me in a group home?" she asked in disbelief.

Bart cleared his throat. "I don't want to have to make that choice, young lady. But this is an illness and if you don't show improvement, I may have no other choice. If you don't eat, you're going to die.

Chuck, who was hidden behind a thick row of heavy coats, blanched at his father's words and he began to feel dizzy. Finally he knelt down least he pass out.

"I'm sorry to be such a burden on you…. But I am trying, Mr. Bass," Blair cried in earnest. "I really am."

"It didn't appear that way tonight," Bart argued with a scowl. He sighed. "Look, you aren't a burden, but this needs to stop! And you need to try harder. We'll give it a few more weeks with the outpatient counseling and see how things go, but I need to see improvement soon. Dorota is going to weigh you daily and will keep me informed of your progress, all right?"

She nodded and wiped her eyes, not knowing what else to do. She would simply have to try harder. She couldn't fathom losing another home again, it was just too much to even think about.

"Now go and clean yourself up," he directed as he took in her disheveled appearance. "I'll see you upstairs in a few minutes."

When she left the bathroom for the second time she was surprised to see Chuck waiting for her. He quickly took her by the hand and led her back around the corner and into the coatroom again. "I won't let him send you away," he said as he wrapped her in his arms.

"You heard?" she asked.

He nodded. "I ducked in here when I saw him coming," he said as he held her tighter. "But you have to start eating. I…, I don't want you to die!"

She held him tighter, his words giving her more strength then she'd felt in a while. "I thought you didn't care…."

He pulled away from her stared in disbelief. "Of course I care!" he replied.

"Then why do you keep on leaving me?" she challenged.

"Because I'm a fool," he replied and he hugged her to him again. "I think I would die if anything happened to you."

"Same here," she agreed as more tears began to slip down her eyes, ruining her freshly reapplied makeup. The thought of him permanently out of her life was beyond her comprehension.

For the rest of the evening Blair stayed close to Chuck, ignoring Jack's dirty looks whenever he happened to catch her eye. Jack soon backed off and began to flirt with a girl from his office instead. Finally at the end of the evening, Chuck and Blair took the limo back to the Bass penthouse on their own, Bart having gone home to bed hours before and Jack nowhere to be found.

"Goodnight," Blair said to Chuck and wrapped her arms around his neck. She placed a little kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for being there for me tonight."

He pressed her tightly against his chest and burrowed his face into the side of her neck. "You were there for me too," he reminded her.

He kissed the side of her neck, sending shivers up and down her body. He wanted to do more, to kiss her passionately and feel the silk of her body beneath his hands. But he dared not push himself on her in case she rejected him. "Goodnight," he finally said as he tore himself away and turned to go into his room alone.

Blair stared after him, wanting to stop him from leaving or maybe even follow him into his room. But instead she sighed deeply and made her way into her room alone.

**XOXO**

Jack turned on his computer and opened the application to his camera program. He took a long drink from the bottle of scotch in his hand while the program loaded. He checked on his nephew first, making sure Chuck was alone. He grinned when he saw him tossing, unable to sleep and all alone in his bed. He was pissed that the boy had maneuvered him away from Blair earlier that evening, making him settle for the skanky blond he knew practically everyone in his office had screwed. He could still smell the woman's perfume on his sheets and it unsettled him. He wanted Blair, but the frigid bitch was proving to be more challenging than he'd have given her credit for. And Chuck's interference only made things worse!

Grunting in annoyance, Jack switched to the cameras in Blair's room instead and frowned when he noted that she also appeared restless, although she was asleep. He realized after a few minutes that she was having a nightmare. He took another drink of his scotch and then startled when he heard her suddenly scream for no apparent reason. But then grinned when she tossed off her covers and sat upright, exposing her creamy white thighs with her thin cotton nightgown hiked up under her lace-covered bottom. He zoomed in on her legs, scowling when he realized her displaced pillow was blocking the best possible view. "Dammit!" he swore. He watched her get onto her knees and put her hands over her eyes. He zoomed out and then swore again in disbelief and anger when he saw Chuck enter her room and rush over to her side.

**XOXO**

"Blair!" Chuck yelled as he rushed to her side. "What's wrong?"

She looked up at him, confused as to both why she was kneeling in the middle of her bed and why Chuck was by her bedside. "I…, I guess I was having a bad dream," she realized in embarrassment.

He climbed in and knelt next to her, putting his arms around Blair to comfort her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head, visions of her being thrown out of the Bass penthouse still edging at her brain. She snuggled in closer to Chuck.

He sighed, the feeling of her protected in his embrace, soothing him.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," she apologized into his chest.

"You didn't" he replied. "I was thinking and couldn't sleep."

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked as she pulled out of is arms and looked at him.

He shook his head. "Not really."

She nodded and looked down, unsure of what to say to him next.

"Do you want me to leave?" he asked as he looked at her.

She looked up at him again and shook her head. "No." She never wanted him to leave her.

He held her gaze for several moments and then leaned towards her without even thinking about it. His lips gently grazed hers and when she responded to his kiss, he wrapped her again in his arms and deepened it.

Blair practically melted into him under his touch. She placed her arms around his neck, her fingers immediately entangling themselves in his thick, wavy hair.

He pulled her even closer until he was then sitting and she edged up onto his lap, straddling him. Chuck bit back a groan of desire, her lace panties offering practically no barrier against the thin cotton of his boxers.

She felt him harden under her and gently rocked once against him, causing Chuck to moan in his heat, "God, I want you!"

She leaned back for a moment, her eyes dark with want as she looked at his face.

Chuck placed his hands on her hips and ground his straining penis against her lace. He leaned forward, placing his mouth against the now heated flesh on her throat and neck and he kissed and then sucked at her skin until she whimpered in desire.

He slid his hands under the delicate cotton nightdress she wore and lifted it up over her head, tossing it beside the bed. His hands found her small breasts, nipples hard as pebbles and he lowered his mouth until he captured first one and then the other in his mouth.

"God!" groaned Blair as she felt the fire explode from the pit of her belly and spread throughout her body, coming to a peak at the junction between her legs. She ground herself down on his ridged penis, her hands slipping down to the front of them. She wanted to touch him there….

Chuck held her firmly and suddenly flipped them both over so that Blair was laying next to him on the bed.

She put her hand on the waistband of his boxers and then shyly slipped it inside, feeling the silky soft skin of him for the first time. He turned on his back and quickly removed his shorts, releasing himself so that she could explore him further.

Chuck bit his bottom lip as she began to innocently stroke his length, her tiny hand gliding gently over his glistening tip. Then down underneath. He began to run his hands over her torso, stopping at the lace of her underwear. And when she raised herself up, he slid the panties down and threw them next to her nightie on the floor.

Then they both stopped for a moment and just looked into the other's eyes, knowing that if it were to go any further, it would change everything between them for the rest of their lives. He leaned his forehead against hers and then sighed in contentment when she kissed him gently on the mouth. He wanted her badly, just as she wanted him.

Chuck held her close and flipped her over so that she was laying against his chest. She sat up, straddling him again, her deep brown eyes drawing his into their pools. He edged her up until she was just hovering over him and he placed his hands on her hips, helping ease her down on his length. She didn't flinch when he broke through, her eyes holding his gaze as they finally became one.

**XOXO**

Jack stared in horror at what was happening on the screen in front of him. It was supposed to have been him, he thought angrily. That little fucker had beat him to it! He threw the half finished bottle of scotch across the room, smashing it against the wall in the adjoining dining room, and he roared in anger, "Son of a bitch!" He'd make sure the little fucker paid for this.

**XOXO**

**A/N:** Ok, I decided to leave it there before I let their lives go to hell in a hand basket.

Thanks to all of you who took a minute to review and to offer condolences over my cousin. The doctors expected her to die over a week ago, but she's still hanging on. The cancer has spread to her brain so she is in and out of a coma and often unable to speak. It's hard watching someone you love die. She is my only close cousin and like the sister I never had.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**A/N: Thank you to everyone's kind words regarding my ailing cousin. She passed away two weeks ago and her funeral was last Saturday. I placed 3 roses on her urn, one for each of her and her two younger sisters who died of Huntington's disease a few years ago. If there is a heaven the three girls will be happy to be reunited again. But for my aunt and for me, it was a very sad day. **

**Anyways, I tried to get this posted earlier but deleted my final draft somewhere…. Good grief, does it ever end? Hopefully there aren't too many errors in this one.**

**XOXO**

Over the past few years Chuck had been with an incredible amount of women…, women of every shape, height, color and age. He would bed them, fuck them and send them on their way because once he'd had them, he never wanted to see them again. But for some strange reason he just couldn't seem to get enough of Blair Waldorf.

Perhaps it was that with Blair there was so much more than just sex. When he was with her he had a sense of completeness that he'd never experience with another human being. And once he had her, Chuck seemed to want more of her again and again and again.

"It's late," Blair giggled as she pulled the covers off of him and struggled out of his embrace to get up. "I need to get in the shower and get ready for school and you should get out of here before Dorota gets the shock of her life…"

"It wouldn't be the first time she's seen me…. exposed," he smarmed as he captured her back in his arms once again. He ran his tongue over her breasts, up until he captured her mouth once again.

This time it was fast, each of them achieving climax simultaneously in only a few minutes after they started. But even then he wanted more.

"Enough," she finally squealed in delight as she slipped away and headed to the bathroom. "I'll see you at breakfast."

Chuck grinned and begrudgingly got up off the bed. He looked at the bathroom door longingly, thinking how delicious she'd be in the shower. He groaned knowing instead he had to go back to his own room and get himself ready for school instead.

By the time they made it down to the breakfast table Bart was up and sipping at his coffee. Dorota hurriedly laid the table out with scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and fruit. She fixed Blair a plate and passed it to the girl, holding eye contact with her while she explained, "Here is your breakfast, Miss Blair. I also make a lunch for you to take to school today and from now on. Is on counter in kitchen."

Blair stared in disbelief at the plate in front of her but then nodded, realizing the maid was following Bart's orders. She finally took the plate and then poured herself a glass of juice to go with it. But try as she might, she could scarcely get half of it down.

Bart scowled but then finally sighed realizing she couldn't eat any more. If he pushed her to eat too much, she'd likely purge later. "If you've had enough then that will be fine this morning, Blair," he said. "I'd rather it be that amount as long as it will stay down."

She nodded and wiped her mouth, resisting the temptation to run upstairs and throw up. Instead she excused herself and went to retrieve her lunch bag in the kitchen.

"Make sure you eat it," Bart stated as she slipped the bag in with her schoolbooks.

"I'll try," she replied honestly, but she already knew it was way more than she could possible eat. "But I need to go. I have a council meeting I'm expected to attend this morning before classes." She looked at Chuck for a moment and turned to leave, knowing he'd likely follow her in moment.

But Bart asked his son to sit back down, "You can catch up with Blair later," he suggested firmly. "We're going to talk about your attendance again."

Chuck frowned and sat down, knowing he was going to be getting another lecture or even worse. He had tried to attend all of his classes last week, but something seemed to come up every day. "I'll see you at noon," he said to Blair as he watched her buzz for the elevator.

She nodded and turned to enter the elevator when she heard the ding of the bell, but then startled when the door opened to show Jack standing there, looking anything but pleased.

She was right. In fact Jack was more miserable then he'd been in a long, long time. He'd spent most of the night up watching them, doing all that he could to remain in control. But what he'd wanted to do was to tear up to the penthouse and beat the shit out of his nephew. He'd tried to sleep, but it was fitful in his anger. And then, when the alarm had gone off just as he managed to settle, he'd thrown a complete tantrum.

He scowled at Blair as she brushed past him and hurriedly pushed the button to take her down to the lobby. She certainly didn't want to speak to him, certainly not after he had groped her last night!

Jack looked back at Blair and frowned when he noted she wouldn't look at hm. He turned back and headed into the dining room, hoping to score some breakfast before the maids had cleared the table. He startled when he saw Chuck and Bart locked in what looked like a staring competition. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked.

"It's never stopped you before," Chuck sneered with an eye roll.

"Jack, sit down. I need to talk to you too," he said in agitation. He returned his attention to Chuck. "Let me make myself perfectly clear," he began. "You will attend all of your classes this week without argument; and you will bring a report home on Friday from all of your teachers telling me that you've turned in all of your late assignments."

Chuck scoffed. "Are you going to ground me if I disappoint you again?" he asked sarcastically.

Bart smirked. "You always disappoint me," he bit back. "But your situation is going to change drastically if you continue the trend."

"Meaning what?" Chuck challenged.

Bart looked at his son for a moment and then shook his head. He reached down for his brief case and opened it, pulling out several papers and pamphlets. He spread the lot out in front of Chuck. "Like I was saying, your situation is going to change drastically if you continue….."

Chuck stared in horror as brochures of different academies and boarding schools lay in front of him. He looked up at Jack when he heard his uncle snicker.

"Jack!" Bart snapped. "You should be grateful I never considered this when you were in high school! At least my son's marks are worthy when he does finally manage to complete his work."

Jack scowled back at his brother, not daring to challenge the point. And although he was far from stupid, he knew very well that Chuck was far more academic than he'd ever been, probably because he'd had Blair to tutor him for years. But the thought of Blair and Chuck churned again and he leafed through the pamphlets until he found one on a Texan Military academy. He smirked and picked it up and tried to appear serious. "Perhaps If I'd have gone to a fine school such as this, I'd surely I'd be better disciplined now," he commented suggestively.

Bart removed the pamphlet from him and looked at it for a moment and then laid it down in front of him. "That's questionable," he challenged with a glare. He looked back at his son. "So, there will be no more problems with attendance or anything else from this point on. The choice is yours, Charles. You will either discipline yourself," he said as he picked up the pamphlet and waved it in front of his son, "Or I will have someone else do it for you. Now get your things and head off to school before you're late." He looked away from Chuck dismissively and picked up the coffee pot to refill his cup. "Now Jack, we need to discuss Australia…."

**XOXO**

It was noon when he saw her approach him down the hall hesitantly. He was in a terrible mood to talk to anyone, but didn't want her to think he was dismissing her like he knew was likely, should he turn his back on her. Instead he managed a smile.

She was worried, knowing that his talk with Bart wasn't likely to be a positive one. "I've been worried all morning. Should I even ask how it went?"

He sighed and reached out to hug her close to him. "He thinks he can just send us away if we don't do what he wants. And I can understand it with me, but not you…"

"I'm not family, Chuck. He doesn't owe me anything."

"You're family to me," he argued as he held her tighter.

She nuzzled into his neck, loving the affection he was showing her, and needing the reassurance that he really did care about after what had happened last night.

"Well, eww! Isn't this just nasty!" Georgina bit sarcastically as she and Serena approached them as they sauntered down the hall.

"B, are you guys a couple now?" Serena asked in a surprised voice.

Blair blushed and stepped back away from Chuck for a moment.

"They say incest is the best," Georgina laughed at them.

Chuck stepped towards the girls and glared at Georgina. "First of all, we're not related so there is no incest to speak of here," he informed her. "But you fucking your cousin Phillip is. So you're hardly one to talk, Georgina."

Georgina blanched at Chuck's words. How he had learned of her secret romance with her father's brother's son was beyond her. She clamped her lips closed and grabbed onto Serena's shoulder to encourage them both on their way.

"Well I think you make a beautiful couple," Serena reassured them. "I mean, you've been in love with each other for like forever!"

Both Chuck and Blair blushed at that and Chuck reached out and took Blair's hand in his, pulling her next to his side and squeezing it tight. No one had said the L word yet… it was too soon and for both, just too risky.

Blair blushed again. "Thanks, S," she said, squeezing Chuck's hand back and leaning her body against his.

Chuck looked at his watch and sighed. "Now if you'll excuse us, we need to get to the cafeteria before lunch break is over." He wanted to make sure Blair ate what Dorota had packed for her and couldn't afford to be late for his class after that.

Georgina needed no further encouragement to leave being already angry with Chuck for burning her again.

And as they made their way down the hall both Chuck and Blair laughed when they heard Serena ask Georgina, "Just what did Chuck mean about your cousin?"

**XOXO**

They landed on his bed with a thud, Chuck laughing as she squealed in surprise at the sudden motion. He quickly pulled her arms over her head and pinned them as he began to nuzzle at her neck.

Blair noticed how hard he was immediately. "Chuck, stop," she giggled as she tilted her head forward to discourage him. "We need to get our homework done before dinner," she reminded him.

He gazed deep into her eyes until Blair felt like she was drowning in them. He ground himself against her with a slight moan and then he kissed her. "I suppose you're right," he sighed. He released her hands and straddled her hips, looking down at how lovely she was lying before him. It was almost more than he could bear.

Blair raised her hand and caressed the side of his face, noting that he already needed to shave again. She smiled and then wiggled until she could sit up under him and wrapped her arms around his back. She leaned in and kissed him softly. "We can always do this later…."

"Promise?" he grinned as he kissed her back.

"Always," she replied truthfully.

**XOXO**

Bart appeared in a good mood that evening at dinner. When he'd gotten off work and came up to the suite he had seen Chuck and Blair working hard on their homework in the study. It was an encouraging sight. Blair had also already made a good effort on finishing her meal and the house was downright peaceful throughout dinner, a state that Bart cherished. But the ambiance quickly shifted the moment Jack entered from the elevator in the foyer and joined them.

He sat across the table from Chuck and glared at him.

"What?" Chuck asked defensively.

Jack smirked and shook his head, trying to regain his composure. "Get caught up on all your tardy assignments?" The man asked sarcastically.

Chuck frowned. "Why is that any of your business?"

"Just concerned about your future, nephew," he replied sweetly.

"Well from how hard he and Blair were going at it this afternoon, I'd say he's off to a good start," Bart boasted.

The comment, though intended innocently, startled all three young adults at the table. Blair blushed a deep crimson, Chuck coughed on the sip of water he'd just taken and Jack turned an ashen shade of gray.

Bart frowned, lost on the reaction of the others. He cleared his throat. "And that's how I want to see you from this point on, Charles. Hard at it."

Chuck bit his tongue, afraid to comment on anything his father was saying, least he give them away. Finally he managed a simple nod. "Yes, father."

Blair pushed the remainder of food around on her plate, she knew if she ate any more she'd be unable to stop herself from vomiting later.

Bart looked at her and he sighed. "You did well tonight, Blair. If you're finished you may leave the table."

"Thank-you," she said as she put her napkin on the table and stood up. She quickly exited the dining room and headed up the stairs to her room, hoping that Chuck would join her as soon as his homework was completed.

Jack heaped a pile of meat on his plate next to his scalloped potatoes, his eyes never leaving his nephew. "Bart, I need to talk to you some more about the Australia project," he said as he began to cut up his meat.

His gaze was getting on Chuck's nerves. Finally Chuck put his napkin on the table, preparing to excuse himself. "I have math to finish," he said as he rose to leave.

**XOXO**

Blair rolled over on her belly to flip through the fashion section of the latest magazine. She smiled when she heard her bedroom door open behind her. "I thought you'd never finish," she said sweetly as she turned her head. But her tone changed immediately when she realized it was Jack and not Chuck in the doorway.

He closed the door behind him and approached her bed. "Love the attire," he commented drolly.

Blair blushed, realizing she was clad only in a pair of panties and a camisole. She hopped up off the bed and headed to her bathroom to grab her housecoat. "What are you doing here, Jack?" she asked in annoyance. But before she could get passed him he reached out and grabbed her, pulling her flush against his body.

"I thought we could spend a little time together this evening," he growled lowly as he nuzzled into her neck.

"Are you crazy?" she asked as she tried to withdraw from his clutches. She tilted her head into his face against her neck, trying to break off the suction on her skin, not able to handle his warm mouth on her. She shuddered.

Jack misinterpreted the response and chuckled. "Stop trying to slip away. You want this. I know you do." He pulled his face away for a second and slammed his mouth against hers roughly, his body pressing hard against hers, his fingers digging into the delicate skin of her waist. He slipped one hand behind her, then down inside her panties and cupped the rounded cheek, pulling her firmly against the noticeable bulge in his pants.

Blair panicked. Jack's advances prior to this had been subtle or clumsy at best. But his aggression here scared her. Panic overcame her senses as she realized she was powerless in his clutches. She saw no other choice to discourage him so she bit. Hard. So hard in fact that Jack completely let go of her and then had to slap her face for her to release him.

"You bitch!" he yelled and he slapped her face again, this time much harder. He grabbed her by the arm and began to drag her over to her bed. "You like it rough, eh?"

Blair began to scream as she realized where he was taking her and Jack put one hand over her mouth to shut her up. He threw her down on the bed and attempted to climb on top of her but Blair's foot immediately shot up until it connected with the soft bulge of his crotch. Jack cried out in pain and he curdled onto the floor in a heap.

"Get out of here!" she hissed at him venomously as she leapt off her bed and ran into the washroom, immediately locking herself inside.

**XOXO**

Chuck let himself into her room and sprawled out on the bed, waiting for her to come out of the bathroom. Maybe she's in the tub, he thought pleasantly as the idea of slipping into the soapy water along side of her appealed to him. He got up, removed his shirt, and had just begun to unbutton his trousers when he heard a soft sob. He frowned thinking he must have imagined it, but there came another one almost immediately after. He knocked on her bathroom door. "Are you ok in there?"

Blair jumped at the sound of the knock but settled once she heard Chuck's voice. She cleared her throat and looked at herself in the mirror. Of course she wasn't all right! Jack had just tried to…. , to…. She couldn't think of it without shuddering and feeling the need to vomit again. In fact when she'd locked herself in the bathroom she had immediately lost all control and had thrown up the contents of her dinner and any other substance still lingering in the confines of her belly. From there she stripped and got into her shower, the water so hot as to be almost scalding and she scrubbed every inch of her until she was almost raw, needing to have the memory of Jack's touch off of her.

She couldn't tell Chuck. Things were bad enough as it was without Chuck going after Jack. And she knew he would if she told him what his uncle had done…. what he had tried to do to her. If she hadn't gotten Jack in the balls she was sure he would have raped her…. Raped her in her own bedroom with Chuck and Bart only a few steps away. She shuddered again at the thought.

"Blair?"

"I'm all right, Chuck. I just wanted to have my shower early," she lied. "And I'm just brushing my teeth. She pulled out her toothpaste and placed a glob on the brush, turning on the water to soak it. "Did you finish your math?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.

"I did. I think if I keep up at that pace I'll get the other assignments done early too," he answered. He plopped down on her bed and rolled onto his back, anxious to see her again.

She came out a moment later, looking fresh and pink and adorable with damp ringlets cascading down her shoulders and back. She sat next to him on the bed.

"What happened to your face?" he asked as he reached up to touch the red mark on her cheek.

"Oh, I had a pimple," she lied again and removed his hand. "Dorota always says you shouldn't squeeze them…."

He nodded. "I know, but it's hard not to touch them." He lifted his arms to her and she slid into them easily, almost as easy as breathing. She snuggled in close, laying her head just over his heart, feeling the need to be even closer to him than usual. She kissed his chest.

"I want to thank you for helping me with my homework," he said as he wrapped his arms around her a little tighter.

"You know I love to work with you," she replied, giving him a little kiss on the neck.

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about you all day," he admitted as he ran his hands along her satiny skin.

"Me neither. And now we've got all night," she promised as she slipped her arms around him and cupped his hard ass, pulling him in closer to her. After the run in with Jack, Blair really needed to feel like she was Chucks and he was hers. She moaned a little when she felt him harden against her, wanting to feel him inside her as fiercely as he needed her.

"It's never enough," he admitted as he helped her begin to undress.

**XOXO**

It was the following weekend at a formal brunch when he made a grab for her again. She had just left the washroom and was about to head back to the main room when Jack pulled her into an empty banquet room. He pushed her up against a back wall and caged her in with his arms.

Her first response was to kick him in the crotch again, but the way he had her pinned with his body so close made that impossible. She couldn't even knee him at the angle he had her.

'Don't even think about it," he warned as if reading her mind. He leaned in, his mouth attacking her neck.

"Jack stop!" she yelled as tears began to pool in her eyes. "Why are you doing this? I have never given you a reason to think I would want to make out with you? I'm not like that!"

He pulled away from her momentarily and smirked. "No? Yet you seem to have no problem letting Chuck into your pants."

She froze. "I beg your pardon!"

"Oh, I know all about the midnight romps you two have between the sheets, and the steamy showers. I know all about it… like how you love it when he goes down on you and that you purr like a kitten after you cum….."

She was floored. "How do you know this?" she asked as the tears began to pour down her face. Did…., did Chuck tell you?"

"I know about it all, Blair. I know that you really like to be on top, but any position will do. You like surprises and even a little pain." He placed his hands on each of her breasts and began to squeeze, just enough to prove his point as his face dipped into her cleavage and his tongue tasted her ripe flesh.

The thought that Chuck had betrayed her, had discussed to his uncle all that was private and sacred between them, was such a shock to her that she didn't realise Jack's hands had slipped up under her dress until he began caressing her between the thighs.

She jolted to attention and began to slap him away from her. "Don't touch me!" she yelled again. She found, in this new position, there was an opening and she kneed him hard, causing Jack to buckle on the spot. "Don't you ever touch me again!" she warned as she ran past him. She saw the double doors into the kitchen and ran through them, past startled waiters and cooks, upending a pan of eggs benedict sitting precariously on a counter. She flinched at the noise from the crashing mess and squawking employees, but continued onward until she finally spied the exit and flew out the doors, stopping just before she left the alley to catch her breath and cry her heart out.

**XOXO**

"Have you seen Blair?" Chuck asked his uncle when he saw the man return with an angry expression on his face from wherever it was that he'd been.

Jack glared at Chuck and he shook his head, still finding it difficult to talk. The bitch had nearly ruptured him that time he was sure. But he'd get her back for that later. She might not like it so rough after that, he thought vengefully.

Chuck ignored his cranky uncle and decided to go and see if Bart knew where she was. But he changed his mind thinking it would only raise red flags and Blair didn't need Bart breathing down her neck again. He would, instead, look for her himself. But regardless of where Chuck looked, he couldn't find Blair anywhere. And once he'd had an attendant check for her in the bathroom, he really began to worry.

He was about to give up and go back to the brunch room when he saw Serena and her brother Eric coming down the hall, giggling about something that had happened over brunch. "Have you seen Blair?" he asked with an air of desperation.

Serena shook her head. "Earlier at brunch," she replied. "Is everything ok, Chuck. You look upset. Did you guys have a fight or something?"

He shook his head. "She just seems to have vanished!"

"Well, I'm sure she'll turn up. Maybe she's just off talking to one of her minions," she reassured him.

He shook his head knowing she wouldn't just leave him like that. "I think something is wrong."

"Maybe she was the crazy girl the waiters were complaining about that ran through the kitchen and sent all the eggs bennies flying. They said she ran out the back door and down the alley," Eric chuckled, unaware of how upset Chuck really was.

He blanched and his stomach knotted and he just knew that it was Blair whom Eric and the staff were referring to. "Thanks," he replied as he headed for the kitchen…..

**XOXO**

…. He found her where he had for years before when things had gone wrong, laying on the mattresses piled in their childhood hiding place, once again. "Blair?" he questioned cautiously.

She'd known he would come for her and at first had questioned whether to find someplace else where she could be alone. But there was no other place where she felt as safe as she did here. Besides, she had to confront him, if anything just to tell him to go to hell. After that she would talk to Bart, tell him that her bulimia was out of control and she needed to be sent away. She couldn't ever live in this house with Chuck again. Not after what he had told Jack.

She wiped her eyes and turned to face him and he winced upon seeing the red eyes and smeared mascara that told him how much pain she was in.

"Oh God, what happened?" he asked as he rushed to her side to comfort her. He tried to pull her body into his arms but retracted when he felt her immediately stiffen.

"Don't touch me!" she bit and she shook her head as tears began running down her face into the already saturated pillow.

Shocked, he immediately pulled away and sat up, too stunned to even know what to do.

She saw the look of hurt and confusion on his face and she sat up next to him. "Of all the people in the world, I believed I could trust you the most."

"I don't know what I've done?" Chuck replied dumbfounded as he stared at her. For the life of him he could not think of what he may have done to hurt her.

She dropped her eyes onto her lap and shuddered. "He can't keep his hands off of me now…," she whispered.

Chuck blanched again. "Who? What are you talking about?" he asked in alarm.

She looked at him and sneered. "Who do you think, Chuck? You told him what I like. Where I like to be touched, even the sounds I make, for Christ sake! And he won't stop now because you've told him and he thinks I'm a whore!"

Chuck could have sworn his heart had stopped and the wind had been sucked out of him. She made no sense; he'd told nobody anything about her, about them. They were too sacred to share with anyone else. Yet her words were accusing him of the greatest betrayal and were daggers to his heart. "Who, Blair? Who are you talking about?"

She looked at him and scoffed again at his innocent act. "Who the fuck do you think I am talking about, Chuck? Or have you told so many people that you've lost count?"

He took her by the shoulders and glared at her. "I've told nobody anything about us. I would never do that to you… to us. I…, I love you too much."

His words ate at her and more tears than ever came as she shook her head. He told her he loved her but she couldn't believe him. Not after what Jack had disclosed.

"Who are you talking about, Blair? Who won't keep their hands off of you?"

She just looked at him in disbelief, not believing the words coming from his mouth, let alone the concern emanating from his being. And then he just somehow knew. And she realised he was telling the truth as she saw that knowledge creep over him and the color drain away from his face and all over.

"But if it wasn't you….."

"He's got to be watching us!" Chuck cried as the thought of their most intimate moments being watched by his uncle sank in. "I would never say anything to anyone about us. Especially to Jack!"

She nodded, believing him. "I'm so sorry," she said as she curled up in a ball next to him and sobbed.

And then the rest of what Blair had said to him became as clear as a dagger to his eyes and the knowledge that Jack had been after her made him erupt. His posture stiffened and he clenched his fists. "What did he do to you, Blair?"

She shook her head and wrapped her arms around his legs, burrowing her face next to him.

He put his hand on her head, encouraging her to look at him. "What did he do? Did…, did he rape you?"

She shook her head. "No, but I think he was going to. I…, I bit him and then kicked…."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"Because it would only have caused trouble. There can't be any more trouble, Chuck"

"I'm going to kill the bastard!"

She shook her head again and sat up, wrapping her arms around him immediately. "No! You can't! You can't do anything to jeopardize getting sent away. And if you attack him, your father will send you away. I can't live without you."

"We can't let him get away with this," he said. "He's been watching you…., watching us!"

"You really think there are cameras?" she asked, the hairs on her entire body standing on end with the realisation of how creepy that was. God knows what that man must have seen! She fought off the urge to throw up even though she could taste the bile building in the back of her throat.

He nodded. "There's no other way he could know."

"What do we do?" she worried out loud.

"First of all, we stop him. After that, I'm not too sure."

**XOXO**

**A/N: **Alas our couple is in for a terrible ride. What do you think Chuck's going to do to Jack?


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

They had decided to spend the night in their secret place, slipping away easily once Bart had turned in early that evening. Neither of them wanted to be in their rooms where Jack could be observing them at any time. They made love slowly that evening, each of them savouring their partner as though every moment may be their last.

"I love you," Chuck had disclosed once again as they lay satiated in each other's arms. "I think I have loved you my entire life."

It had brought her to tears and she looked at him as though he were the most precious thing on the planet. In her world he was. She stroked his cheek and kissed him softly on the mouth. "I…, I love you too, Chuck," she'd admitted. "And I have loved you all of my life as well."

They'd held each other until sleep had claimed them and they remained wrapped in each other's arms until the dream had begun…..

_It was happening again. And no matter how hard he tried, the scream just wouldn't come from his mouth. Chuck shook his head violently and pulled the covers over his head knowing the horror of what would happen next…_

"Chuck?"

He bolted upright in their bed, beads of sweat dripping down his face, his body covered in a cold sweat.

"Jesus!" he swore as he pulled away from her, but only for a moment so as to catch his breath and get his faculties together.

"What's wrong? Were you having a bad dream?" she asked. Blair laid her hand on his back and he sighed at how easily her mere touch soothed him.

He lay back down and pulled her to him, wrapping her close in his arms again. "Something like that," he replied lightly. He nuzzled his face into the curve of her neck, just wanting to forget all about it.

"But you were flailing and practically whimpering in your sleep! It must have been a really horrible. Do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head adamantly and held her even tighter, the images once buried so deep in his brain now threatening to emerge- to let loose like raging heat might from molten lava.

She held him, sensing the pain he so obviously wanted to hide, until his body relaxed and she knew he was asleep once more. She sensed there was something wrong there, but knew more than to push him, remembering similar times when he was younger…

_Chuck sat on the edge of his bed, tears pouring down his face. She had heard his cries and ran into his room, clicking on the light to see what was wrong. "Are you sick?" she asked as she sat next to him._

_He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, embarrassed to be crying in front of her. "I'm ok, 'was just a dumb dream, is all," he insisted._

_Her eyes grew large and she nodded. "Was it about a monster?"_

_He hesitated for a moment and then nodded. "Something like that…."_

"_What happened?" she whispered, crawling under the covers with him._

"_I…., I can't remember 'xactly," he replied with a shudder. "But I don' wanna talk about it."_

"_Ok," she said as she sat up, preparing to leave. "I should go back to my bed." _

_He grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving. "No, please stay with me tonight. I don't wanna be alone."_

"_Are you afraid the dream will come back?" she asked in a whisper, as though the monsters were hiding under his bed or something._

_He nodded._

"_Ok, I'll sleep here tonight," she agreed, about to climb off the bed." I'll just get the light…"_

_He reached out to stop her again. "No! Just…, just leave it on, ok?" _

_She nodded and pulled the blanket up over both of them, slipping close to Chuck. _

_He turned around and slipped his arms around her, bringing him in even closer to him and tucked his head under her curls. "Thank- you."_

As she recalled the past event, others of a similar nature began to replay in her head and she felt a complete hollowness washed over her as the pieces of the puzzle began to take shape before her. And the very idea of what she was concluding was so painfully wrong that she could only pray that she was mistaken.

**XOXO**

They awoke with the help of Chuck's cell phone alarm and made their way back upstairs before they would be missed for breakfast. Blair was exhausted, being unable to sleep most of the night. She embraced him and gave him a long and loving kiss before heading into her room to shower and change, her heart still in turmoil over last night's realization.

He picked up on her distress and assumed it was because of Jack. "Just act normal and remember it's going to stop today. I don't want him to know that we are aware until I can fix this," he reminded her.

She nodded, albeit grudgingly. It would be hard to shower and dress knowing she was likely being watched by the pervert.

"And make sure you distract him well at breakfast so I can get into his suite without worrying that he return."

She nodded again and he held her close before leaving to go to his room. "It'll be ok," he promised. He kissed her again

She hoped so, but the anxiety she felt deep inside warned her it was unlikely. After today things would likely only get worse with Jack.

**XOXO**

Chuck scarfed back his omelette and had just chugged down his juice when he heard the elevator bell ring. He rose to leave the table.

"Why the hurry?" Bart asked his son just as Jack joined them in the dining room.

"I have to meet with my so-called "_lab partner" _before class this morning to complete an experiment that was due a couple of weeks ago," he whined.

Bart nodded in approval. "Make sure you thank the young man, Charles," he insisted. "It's generous of him to make time to help you."

"Right," Chuck answered as he ducked into the elevator. He knew he needed to do this quick. He headed down to Jack's suite and swiped the card he'd bribed from one of the housekeeping staff the day before, into the lock. When the green light blinked he burst into the suite and then into the room he knew Jack used as an office.

He sighed with relief when he saw the computer was turned on and hadn't gone into screen saver mode yet. He sat down and tried to keep his temper when he saw the open window showing Blair's bathroom on display. The bastard had watched her take a shower this morning.

He quickly found the program files and almost vomited when he saw how many cameras there were on them: there were three in both his and Blair's rooms, two others appeared to be set up in Bart's room with another two set up in his father's office. "Son of a bitch!" Chuck growled as he began to deleting program files and folders, some of which Jack had saved choice clips in,

He was just about to leave, feeling he'd gotten the works when he noticed other folders that looked suspicious with links on his desktop. Upon opening some he found other personal information of all of them including bank documents, legal papers and a bunch of other stuff he just knew didn't belong to Jack.

In his anger Chuck acted without thinking and immediately went about clearing more and more files until he cleared the entire works on the computer…. Within moments Jack's computer was void of all files and programs. At first Chuck grinned, but then the severity of what he'd just done hit him and he panicked. "He's going to fucking kill me!" he acknowledged. He quickly got up and fled the room, totally unaware that his lighter had fallen from his pocket under Jack's desk.

**XOXO**

Back up at the penthouse Blair made pleasantries all around trying to draw Jack into conversations. He surprisingly went along with it; not even considering that it might be a ploy to keep his attention from elsewhere.

When Blair's cell phone indicated a text message from Chuck, she checked it quickly and then excused herself from the table. "Minion emergency," she grumbled as she grabbed her lunch and school bag and went to meet Chuck at their limo.

"I'm a dead man," he grumbled as they slid into the car.

Blair's eyes widened. "What did you do?"

"I killed everything on his computer…."

"Chuck!"

"There are cameras everywhere!" he cried in defense. "He's been filming us, my father… he's also got information about bank accounts and trust funds and Bass Industries that I know he shouldn't be privy to! I couldn't help it! I kept seeing more and more junk that he shouldn't have and then they were all just gone! So then I deleted all of his program files as well and now, well now, there's just nothing."

"You're right. He's going to kill you!"

"But not without incriminating himself first."

She took his hand in hers and brought it to her lips for a light kiss. "You know he'll find a way to hurt us after this?"

Chuck nodded and squeezed her hand. "Probably."

**XOXO**

"What do you mean it's gone?" Bart yelled at his younger brother.

"Everything!" Jack yelled back. "I told you, everything is gone! The entire computer is empty!"

"Please tell me you've backed it up on the server like you are supposed to before you leave work every day," Bart growled as he pinched the bridge of his nose. But he already knew the answer. Jack was just too lazy and incompetent to take the time and back up his files on the server at Bass industries. He could feel one whopper of a headache developing.

Jack lowered his eyes and shook his head.

"Well you need to figure a way to recover that information," he grumbled. "Surely some of your coworkers have the documents you've sent them. I know I have some on my system. And take it to Jackson in the tech department. See if he can figure out where everything has gone and why. And then pray, Jack. Pray … Because if all of that information is gone, the Australia project will be gone too. And then, Jack, your career at Bass Industries will follow."

Jack stared at his brother in shock. Surely the miserable prick was joking! But the look on Bart's face reassured him that he most certainly was not. If Jack couldn't recover the Australia project information then thousands of man hours and research was lost and he would be out of a job! He was beyond pissed!

And he couldn't understand why his computer was dead. It had been fine that morning while he watched Blair take her shower after returning from a night out with Chuck. He frowned. Where the hell had the two of them gone for the entire night and why? He shook his head. It didn't really matter. He had more important things to do today then dwell on the pair of them. He had to try to salvage his project and career.

**XOXO**

After school that afternoon the two of them rushed home, placing their books in the study to complete their homework later, and then rushed upstairs to begin the task of removing the cameras from their rooms.

After seeing the images on Jack's computer, Chuck guessed their whereabouts and found them all quickly.

Blair was appalled knowing that he even had one on her when she used the bathroom. She shuddered. "We have to tell Bart," she said as the last of the wires were rolled up for Chuck to dispose of.

Chuck nodded. Of course they would tell Bart. Jack had cameras in his father's office and master suite as well. He tucked the works into his dresser and took out his cell phone, placing a call to maintenance to come and change the locks on their bedroom doors. He didn't want his uncle hooking up anything like that again.

By the time Bart got home for supper Chuck and Blair were completing their homework and the maintenance guy had long finished his task and was gone. Chuck wanted to wait until after dinner to discuss the camera issue with his dad, but the atmosphere in the dining room that night changed his plans fast.

The air at the table that evening was charged with incredible negative energy. Blair looked at Chuck questionably but he just shrugged his shoulders and poked at the meal Dorota served them. She also tried to eat, but the food lay heavy in her stomach almost immediately, seeming to sense that something wasn't quite right.

When Jack finally showed up to eat, Bart looked up at him and the younger man shook his head with a scowl. "He says it wasn't a system failure, but looks more like it was intentionally cleared."

"So who cleared it then?" Bart raged.

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "I've already told you a dozen times!" he snapped back, "It was fine when I came up for breakfast this morning and blank when I returned. I even checked with housekeeping… they didn't even start on my floor until after two this afternoon. I don't know what else to do!" he exasperated.

"Chuck…., Blair, would you excuse us for a few minutes please," Bart asked through gritted teeth.

Blair swallowed the bite of salad she'd been trying to chew and felt her stomach heave as she rose from the table, knowing the shit was about to hit the fan.

Chuck's belly also flipped, knowing full well they were talking about his uncle's computer that he'd cleared earlier that morning. He wanted to laugh out loud but knew that would give him away immediately. And he had obviously erased something of utmost importance on the thing if his father was this upset.

They headed to Blair's room, leaving the door ajar so as to listen to the fireworks that began immediately.

"I don't believe I've ever seen my father so angry," Chuck awed as the words flew between the two men in the dining room.

"Oh my God, what are we going to do?"

"Nothing," Chuck replied adamantly. "We say absolutely nothing. If my father finds out that I wiped out that computer, I'll surely be on my way to a boarding school or worse!"

She flung her arms around him and buried her head in the curve of his neck. "Chuck, I'm scared," she confessed.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her even closer to him. "Me too."

**XOXO**

Jack fought the urge to Frisbee disc his laptop across the room. Stupid thing, he thought in annoyance. Instead he lay it down on his desk and plugged it in. They hadn't found anything wrong with it except that it had been completely barren of any program or files. There wasn't even a virus they could blame it on. The whole mess just didn't make sense.

As it was, he was fortunate that some of the more valuable documents he had previously forwarded to his team were still kicking around so he was able to have those sent back to him once the technologist was able to get the laptop operational again. But the majority of his project was gone. He would have to work his ass off to get everything in order before the deal was set to finalise in another couple of weeks. If he were unable to complete the task, he'd be unemployed.

He almost laughed at the thought. Bart was one of the richest men on the planet yet he would see that his own brother was left destitute because of something that wasn't even his fault. "God dam it!" he swore as he pounded his fist on the desk in frustration.

That sudden violent motion sent his favourite pen flying and it landed on the floor under his desk by his feet. Jack sighed and bent over to retrieve it thinking this just wasn't his day. But when he leaned down to pick it up he hesitated when his eye caught sight of some strange shiny object close to the back wall. He reached down further and picked the item up, recognising it immediately. The engraved initials confirmed what he already knew. It was Chuck's lighter. "That fucking little prick!"

**XOXO**

**A/N:** Anyone scared?

Ok, I know this is a shorter than usual chapter but I haven't posted for a while and thought I should get this out. I am in for a busy couple of weeks but will try and get more out to you soon.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

His head exploded into a million brilliant diamonds and then nothing.

"Chuck!" Blair screamed as she watched him collapse in a puddle in front of her.

They had been on the elevator just coming home from school. Chuck was laughing over an incident where Serena's boy-toy had embarrassed himself in front of the entire cafeteria.

Blair was just beginning to reprimand him for being so mean when the elevator stopped and the door opened into the foyer for them. Jack pounced on Chuck before the boy even knew what hit him, his fist cracking him hard on the side of the head.

"You little prick!" Jack yelled as he jumped on the unconscious boy and began pummelling him some more.

"Jack stop!" Blair yelled as she tried desperately to pull the man off of him.

Jack's hand whipped back and caught the side of Blair's cheek. "Slut!" he roared as he continued his assault on his nephew. "I bet you planned it together, didn't you? Well, don't worry, you're next. I'm not opposed to beating a woman." He turned to sneer at Blair, making her blood run cold in warning.

Blair pulled her hand away from the cheek that he'd struck. She feared the man was going to kill Chuck more even than his threats to her. Without thinking she grabbed the first thing that she saw at hand, a large crystal vase sporting fresh roses sitting on a petite, antique mahogany table, and slammed the works over his head. Jack dropped immediately on top of Chuck.

"Oh, fuck..., fuck..., fuck!" Blair yelled hastily as she knelt by Chuck's side. She cradled his head in her hands. "Chuck! Chuck! Can you hear me?"

Chuck moaned and his hand reached up to touch the side of his head. "My…, my head! What happened?" he asked groggily.

"Jack happened," Blair replied in fear. "He knows what we did, Chuck!

He managed a slight nod and then swore at the pain shooting through his head. "Fuck! Can you help me up?"

She nodded and stood, helping to keep him steady while he tried to find his feet.

Chuck's body screamed in agony as he struggled to stand upright. He saw Jack on the floor, a stream of blood coming from an open gash on his uncle's head. By the splayed roses, water and shattered crystal spread around the foyer and covering the man, Chuck correctly guessed what had happened. "You hit him!"

"He was beating you! He wouldn't stop!" she defended.

"Is he alive?"

Blair blanched. Maybe she'd killed him! "I..., I don't know."

Chuck noted the slight rise and fall of his uncle's chest and knew he was alive. "He's alive," he grumbled. "I think you should have hit him harder!"

"Chuck!"

It was then that they heard the ding of the elevator and both kids turned to look at each other in fear. Fortunately it was just Dorota returning from the market with fresh herbs for the cook for dinner. She saw the kids first, her jaw dropping when she witnessed the contusions that were already rising on Chuck's face. "Mr. Chuck!"

Chuck looked down at Jack's body. "He started it!"

Dorota's eyes followed Chuck's and she screamed upon seeing Jack, who was bleeding, soaking wet and covered with roses, on the floor. She promptly dropped her bag of greens . "Mr. Chuck, what did you do?"

"He attacked Chuck first," Blair explained. "I couldn't get him off of him so I…, I just grabbed the first thing I could find!"

The maid dropped to her knees and looked at Jack's head. "You did this, Miss Blair?" She shook her head. "This going to need stitches."

Jack groaned and Blair looked back to Chuck. She put her arm around him. "Let's get upstairs before he comes to."

Chuck nodded and then winced at the pain the tiny motion caused again in his head. "Good idea."

Dinner was delayed that evening as Dorota accompanied Jack to the hospital for stitches and the cook had to make his best chicken dish without the fresh herbs he'd asked for. Another maid cleaned up the mess in the foyer, including the herbs Dorota had purchased that were now mixed with shards of crystal, and eventually helped the cook with dinner.

"Can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on around here tonight?" Bart snapped when Chuck and Blair finally joined him at the dinner table. He hated when his dinner was late and the table wasn't set to his satisfaction. The maid serving dinner tonight was skittish and the cook was grumpy and Dorota was nowhere to be seen. Besides all that, the chicken was as bland as all hell. He looked at Chuck's swollen and bruised face and frowned. "What happened to you?"

Chuck shrugged his shoulders and he managed a smirk, wanting to make light of it. "You should see the other guy…"

Blair kicked him from across the table and shook her head a little in warning… It was best not to poke the bear.

Chuck cleared his throat and picked up the plate of chicken that sat in front of him. He put a small piece on his plate and passed it over to Blair. He doubted he could eat much tonight given the pain in his face and his shaken nerves. Besides, the chicken looked unappetising as all hell.

Blair took the chicken and selected a small piece of breast meat. But when she saw Bart scowl in displeasure she sighed and took a second piece. It wasn't likely to stay down tonight regardless.

**XOXO**

The two of them were worried about Jack's return. Blair had texted the maid but Dorota hadn't responded back to her yet.

"I don't think he'll squeal," Chuck tried to reassure her as they lay entwined on his bed. "He'd have to explain about the cameras and Bart would flip if he knew why I felt I had to erase everything on the computer."

"I'm afraid of what he's going to do next," she admitted as he held her in his arms. She would never forget the sneer Jack had given her or his warning. She knew he'd retaliate, especially now after she'd cracked his head open.

"I think that'll be the end of it," Chuck replied unconvincingly. He hoped, but didn't think he was correct.

**XOXO**

Jack cursed as the doctor bandaged up his head. But as much as his head hurt, knowing that Blair had cracked him with the vase of flowers from the foyer hurt him even worse. Once again the cunning little bitch had gotten him.

"I mean it Jack. No alcohol tonight. You have a concussion," the doctor warned. "And make sure that whoever stays with you wakes you up every two hours. If your brain swells you could easily slip into a coma."

Jack sighed and nodded his head dejectedly. Now he'd have to pay one of his girls to spend the night without even getting laid in the deal!

Dorota called the limo driver to have the car brought around to the emergency entrance of the hospital, and then quickly called Blair to warn them that Jack was returning. "Mr. Jack is crazy with anger," she warned her. "But Doctor say he is to rest for the evening. Mr. Jack will have friend come and stay with him tonight in his own suite. He has concussion."

Chuck laughed when Blair told him the news. "What friend? Jack has no friends, unless he pays for the company, that is." He looked at her with a grin. "So a concussion, eh? Good going, Waldorf!"

Blair's face fell. She couldn't believe he was making light of this. "This isn't funny! Jack's going to come after us for what I did to him." She put her pen down and looked at an essay draft Chuck was editing for his English class. "Here, you missed one," she informed him as she lightly circled a grammar error on his paper for him.

He sighed and corrected his error and then turned to look at her. "I know this isn't funny, but I think he'll be done with it now. He knows that we know about the cameras and he's gotten me back for what I did to his computer. And you've gotten him for attacking me…."

She shook her head and swallowed a lump of frustration that seemed stuck in her throat. He really didn't get it! "For years you've been telling me, 'Don't underestimate him. He's dangerous'. And you were right. I have a bad feeling about all of this."

He stood and took her hands in his, pulling her up and then into his arms. "I think we'll be ok. And if he's not done, then we'll tell my father about the cameras, ok?"

She blinked back the tears that wanted to fall and managed a small nod to please him. But deep inside she just knew he wasn't done with them. Jack was evil and was not to be trusted.

**XOXO**

Bart looked at Jack questionably at the breakfast table the next morning. His hair had been sheared off on one side and he had a large bandage in the middle of it. He looked over at his son, also sporting war wounds and shook his head, hoping that whatever it was they were fighting about this time was finished. And if they left him out of it, all the better!

He looked over at Blair who was struggling to eat some berries on her plate and he frowned. "Blair, what's wrong? You know you need to eat something more than just fruit for a meal."

Blair blushed and reached for the scrambled eggs, praying that they'd stay down. She had been sick twice in the night from her worries about Jack. And she didn't want any attention on her this morning at all. "I'm just not feeling very well this morning," she mumbled in shame.

Bart frowned again. "Have you been getting sick?" he asked.

She could feel the blood rush to her face and shook her head. "No," she lied.

Chuck looked at his lap, knowing she was lying to his father.

Jack knew it too and he smirked. "Maybe I should take you to the doctor this morning," he suggested.

Chuck's head turned to look at his uncle in both disbelief and fear.

Bart frowned again and he looked at his younger brother. "That's really admirable of you, Jack, but I think you need to worry about your own issues. You have a major report to redo!" Then he looked at Blair. "I'll have Dorota book you an appointment."

Blair nodded knowing there was no sense in arguing about it. When Bart Bass had a mind-set, there was no dissuading him. Her nerves were so frazzled that it amazed her that she had even managed to get the eggs down but knew she'd throw them up again once she got to school.

**XOXO**

"It was so much easier when we were kids," she commented as she took his hand in the limo on their way to school later that morning.

"What was?" he asked as he raised her hand to his mouth and kissed it gently.

She smiled at his gesture and rested her head on his shoulder. "Life. Jack. Your father. It was just all so much easier back then. Things seem so complicated now."

He squeezed her fingers and turned his head so as to kiss the side of her head. "Perhaps. But maybe it was easier because we had our hiding place as a sanctuary from all of that. It was our own, private place. I can't help thinking how much easier it's going to be when we're old enough to get our own place."

She smiled. "Umm," she agreed as she snuggled up closer. "That would be heavenly."

He pulled away from her and looked at her intensely. "I'm serious, Blair. When we're old enough, I'll buy us a home."

She looked at him and raised her hand to stroke his cheek and nodded. Her future had always been so unsure that it was a constant stress for her. Without parents and a trust fund, she was likely to end up in a dead end retail sales job after high school should she not get the scholarships she so desperately needed to help pay for any kind of post secondary education. Chuck's words offered comfort and security. Yet she was not naïve enough to hold him to them. She'd had too much disappointment in her young life to know that she couldn't rely on him or anyone else to ever care for her.

Chuck leaned forward and kissed her, softly at first but becoming more passionate as he sensed her doubt and an overwhelming need to protect her washed over him. "I love you so much," he reassured her.

She managed a sad smile. "I love you too, Chuck."

**XOXO**

Jack popped a couple more Advil and he touched the area surrounding the stitches in his head. He was having one hell of a time organising the various notes and charts that he'd managed to gather as he tried to put his report back together again. His concentration that morning was for shit. "Bitch," he grumbled between clenched teeth as he thought of Blair's cracking him on the head again.

By mid afternoon Jack called it quits and he headed back to the Palace Hotel to his suite. He just couldn't focus today, couldn't put the entire incident behind him. He wanted to tell Bart that it was Chuck that had sabotaged the Australia project by fucking with his computer and erasing all of his files. But Jack was not stupid enough to rat his nephew out. He knew that the little prick would blow the whistle on him about the cameras, and that just wasn't something Jack wanted to be called on. There had to be another way of getting them both back for what they'd done to him, something that would get both of the little bastards out of his life for good. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his silver cigarette case. He removed a joint and dampened it between hi lips before lighting it. He pulled a lighter out of his pocket and sneered when he recognised it as Chuck's. He lit the joint and took a long drag, turning the lighter around in his other hand and looking at his nephew's initials that seemed to be mocking him. And then it came to him and he grinned a wicked grin as a plan began to form, knowing that their destruction was assured.

**XOXO**

"I can't find my essay notes!" Chuck grumbled as he flipped through a stack of papers on the desk that next morning before school.

"You've got your final draft and that's all you really need," Blair commented as she packed up her own books from the study and tucking them into her backpack next to her lunch. "Besides, if we don't hurry, we're going to be late for school."

Chuck sighed and he nodded. "You're right, but I'll lose marks without 'demonstrating the editing process,'" he said in mimic of his teacher.

Blair giggled thinking his girly voice was hilarious. "Well a late mark will lower it even more, so hand it in as is and tell her you'll look for your work later."

He nodded and sighed again, knowing she was right as usual. "You're right."

They had both had a surprisingly good night the evening before. Jack had ignored them at dinner and Bart was too preoccupied with other matters to bother with them. They had finished their homework relatively early and then had snuggled in Blair's room for hours chatting and watching movies until it was finally time for bed. It had been a great night and a good start to the morning already. Maybe everything really was going to be all right after all!

The day progressed much like any other one would, save for a most boring assembly and then pep rally later held after lunch. Stoked that classes had been cancelled, it was the perfect time for them to cut, head home and sneak upstairs where they could fool around all afternoon without getting caught for skipping classes. Nobody cared if they missed the pep rally. It was just to hype up the school jocks anyway.

Chuck called for the limo and he and Blair were off as soon as possible. They didn't see the Vice Principle eyeing them in disapproval as they made their way out of the gates of the school ground, nor know that he put a call into Mr. Bass just as they were getting into the limo.

**XOXO**

"I've got to meet Johnston for an hour or so," Jack informed Bart as he patted his briefcase. Preparing to head out.

"For your benefit, I hope he can duplicate that graph," Bart grumbled without looking up at his younger brother. He was getting sick of Jack and the entire Australia project altogether. He should have known the incompetent young man would bumble the deal in the first place. Now the pressure was on him and he doubted Jack would be able to land the deal, costing Bass Industries millions and millions of dollars!

Jack frowned and fought the urge to tell his older brother to go fuck himself. There was just too much to worry about at the moment and he needed to hurry if he was to pull this off. After the phone call from the Vice Principal, his private eye had assured him that they were both at the penthouse right now; and if he were correct, they'd be up in Chuck's room fucking like demons for the rest of the afternoon. He only had this one shot at it and then he'd have to rush to meet Johnston in the lounge and get that stupid graph for the report as well as to guarantee him an alibi.

He arrived at the penthouse and paid the cabbie as he headed into the hotel. He slipped into the building without the concierge seeing him and quickly made his way up to the penthouse apartment.

Jack let himself in and, after checking to see that no one saw him, slipped into the study. He opened his briefcase and pulled out a stack of papers, crumpling them loosely and tossing them in the trashcan at the back of the room. He pulled the lighter out of his pocket and wiped it off with his handkerchief, then lit up the corner of one piece, grinning when it caught. He quickly tossed the lighter under the desk and looked once again at the trashcan.

Within seconds the can was ablaze, flames beginning to lick up the side of the wall, close to the curtains. He grinned again and slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him and leaving the suite immediately. His heart was pounding wildly as he made his way back down to the main floor and then outside, all without being seen. He paused a moment to catch his breath and then headed into the hotel once again, this time to greet the concierge, ask for his mail and then excuse himself with a comment that he had a lunch meeting to attend to and then headed into the lounge where Johnston was waiting for him.

"Sorry I'm a bit late," Jack apologised to the bald little man with the annoyed look on his face, "But traffic was a bitch."

"I have your graph," Johnston commented dryly as he handed him the papers. "And I already ordered my lunch."

Jack nodded, trying to not appear annoyed and popped the papers into his briefcase. He gestured to the waitress to come over to their table. "I'll have a double scotch on ice and a steak sandwich," he ordered, knowing it was highly unlikely that he'd get to eat it.

The girl nodded and began to head into the kitchen to deliver the order when the alarm to evacuate the hotel sounded. Fire!

**XOXO**

**A/N:** Sorry for this chapter coming so late. It's been one hell of a month! Anyways, did anyone see that one coming? Are you afeared of what's to come? Let me know what you're thinking.


End file.
